Among the Angels
by A. L. Nowicki
Summary: Jekyll is mentally depressed, even on the verge of suicide. Can the Nautilus' newest passenger, McCane's mysterious exwife, help him out? A fantasy fan fic.
1. Mina's Illness

Disclaimer: None of these characters are mine, except for McCane and his wife. Blah, blah, blah, you all know the rest. This is the LXG sandbox; I just play in it.  
  
Okay, Panzergal, here's your Jekyll story. I hope the rest of you enjoy it, too. To give you a better idea of what goes on, a series of events happen to make Jekyll very depressed and even to the point of suicide. However, there is a new stranger aboard the Nautilus to distract him from his unhappy thoughts. After meeting the interesting visitor, Jekyll will never be the same again.  
  
As for Happy New Year.it's on hold until next New Year's, unless anybody objects. I'm sorry, but I just fell out of the spirit, and I still have that darn writer's block. Anyway, on with the story!  
  
*  
  
Dr. Henry Jekyll was sitting at the desk in Mina Harker's stateroom on the Nautilus, pouring over dozens of biology books. He had been practicing medicine for over thirty years now, but he had never had a case quite like this before.  
  
Mina lay in bed, moaning. Dr. Jekyll had drawn the thick blankets up to her chin, but she had pushed them away, hurting too much to sleep. She clutched her stomach and heart, doubling over in pain.  
  
"Dr. Jekyll, hurry," Tom Sawyer urged, shouting over to Jekyll while trying his hardest to keep Mina under control. "I think she's having muscle spasms now!"  
  
"It all hurts," Mina moaned, both hands clutched over her heart.  
  
"Tom, I'm going as fast as I can," Jekyll shouted irritably at him. "Just try to keep her calm and safe. That's all I can tell you right now. I can't find anything in these books!"  
  
Sawyer sighed and tried to force Mina to lie down. "Mina, just try to get some rest, okay? Henry doesn't know much about this, and he's trying to get all the information he can on it." Mina just groaned painfully in reply.  
  
Jekyll turned another page of the book he was reading. "Okay, here we go. I think I found it, Sawyer. Chapter twelve, vampire biology."  
  
"Thank goodness," Sawyer said, breathing a sigh of relief. "I don't get it. I've never seen anybody so sick."  
  
Like most other people, Mina hated being sick. However, this time was different. This time, she didn't even know what sickness she had. She just knew that her whole body hurt and she was burning up with fever. After a preliminary examination, Jekyll was certain that it was a vampiric illness. He had gone to the ship's library and gotten every book on diseases he could find.  
  
"Hurry, Jekyll," the ever-impatient Sawyer urged. "We may have a dying vampire here!"  
  
Mina groaned. She sat up in bed, clutching her stomach. "I need blood," she whined. "I'm sorry. I don't like to beg for it, but I need to suck some blood, right now!"  
  
Sawyer grinned and rolled up his sleeve. "My throat's feeling pretty sensitive right now, so could you do with blood from an arm?"  
  
"Anything," Mina moaned graciously. She greedily bit into his arm.  
  
"Ow!" Sawyer laughed. "Mina, your fangs tickle!" Mina ignored him and kept on sucking thirstily.  
  
Jekyll sighed and got up from Mina's desk. He tiredly rubbed his face with his hands. "Okay, I think I've got it. Mina just has a simple vampiric flu. It's worse than regular influenza, but we just have to treat her symptoms until she's feeling better."  
  
"When will that be?" Sawyer asked, the color quickly draining from his face.  
  
"A few days. Maybe a week," said Jekyll worriedly.  
  
"A week?" Sawyer paled. "Poor Mina!"  
  
Mina sat up, Sawyer's blood trickling down her chin. Usually after sucking blood, she was happy and satisfied, but this time, she was gasping for air and moaning.  
  
"There, there, Mina," Jekyll said kindly, wiping her chin with his handkerchief. "You're going to be all right. You're not dying. You'll be okay."  
  
Mina groaned again and grabbed her stomach. "I think I drank too much," she moaned. "I'm going to be sick!"  
  
"Sawyer, fetch me something, quick," Jekyll said. "Hurry, now!"  
  
Tom lifted a white porcelain washbasin off of Mina's chest of drawers and handed it to Jekyll. "I'll leave you two alone," he said quietly, stepping out of the room and closing the door behind him.  
  
Jekyll held the empty washbasin under Mina. "Just be sick in here, Mina, if you need to. Don't worry about being embarrassed," he added reassuringly. "I'm a doctor, I've seen more than enough vomiting to last me a lifetime."  
  
A very pale Mina nodded and looked up. "Thank you, Jekyll. You are forever kind."  
  
* * *  
  
"Captain, meet my former wife, Batsie."  
  
As Andre McCane introduced them, Captain Nemo shook hands with a pale woman in a gorgeous white dress and a gentle smile. "Neeemo," she said, her voice as soft and gentle as a mild spring breeze, trying to pronounce his name right. "This is a brilliant Lady you've got here."  
  
"Why, thank you, Mrs. McCane," Nemo smiled at her, knowing she meant his ship.  
  
"Mrs. Linoge," Andre McCane corrected him.  
  
"Oh, I'm sorry," Nemo apologized politely. "I didn't know you were remarried."  
  
"My last name doesn't matter," Batsie smiled gently. "It's just Batsie, please." The only woman Nemo really knew was Mina Harker, but Batsie seemed to be Mina's exact opposite. She wasn't intimidating, but warm and calm; her curly brown hair was worn gently down, and her skin was as pale as pure moonlight. The circles around her eyes indicated that she was very old, but still old enough to look quite young.  
  
"Batsie needs to be in New Zealand in five days, Captain. It's an emergency," McCane told Nemo.  
  
"Five days?" Nemo asked, his eyebrows raised. He turned to the lovely Batsie. "I bet I can get you there in four."  
  
Batsie smiled. "You BET me. You didn't PROMISE me. That was good."  
  
Nemo looked confused until McCane leaned over and whispered to him. "You won't make it in four days. She knows you won't. She can read your mind, Nemo."  
  
* * *  
  
"It's okay, Mina. This will all be over soon. Sawyer was just kidding; you won't die. You just have a vampire illness. It's not fatal. It's just part of who you are."  
  
Mina nodded. Jekyll found it easier to calm her down when Sawyer wasn't in the room. "I feel a little better now after calming down a bit. My stomach and chest feel better, anyway. I should try to get some rest."  
  
Jekyll nodded. "Sleep sweet, now, my sweet little vampire girl. I'll be back shortly to check on you.  
  
When Jekyll tucked her in this time, Mina stayed tucked in. She drifted off to sleep, a tiny smile across her face.  
  
*  
  
I'll have the next chapter up before long. I have a feeling that this one is going to be pretty lengthy. Remember to review!  
  
~ Alisonia 


	2. A Formal Welcoming Dinner

To starlight16, my ONE reviewer: yeah, I have a Henry plushie too. I squeeze him an awful lot. And as for Mina dying/Jekyll in love, let's just wait and see, shall we?  
  
By the way, this is a FANTASY story, so if I do kill Mina off, don't come off flaming, okay? Because, in the world of the LXG, any events considered fantasy don't actually happen. Thanks, and enjoy chapter two!  
  
*  
  
"Skinner, put this hat on!"  
  
Sawyer tossed Rodney Skinner a black top hat. The two were in Skinner's room dressing for dinner. Nemo had insisted they have a formal dinner that evening to welcome McCane and Batsie aboard the Nautilus. For Skinner and Sawyer, formal dress proved to be a challenging, yet fun, experience.  
  
Skinner caught the hat from Sawyer and put it on his head. He made a face and took it off. "I don't think so, old chap. Just toss me my regular hat. That'll have to do."  
  
"Good evening, gentlemen," said Nemo, poking his head into the room. He was wearing his regular uniform, but it had been cleaned and polished. "I trust that you will be ready in a few minutes."  
  
"Yep," Sawyer grinned. He looked very odd in a tuxedo, but he figured if Skinner was going to wear one, he'd try it out as well. Skinner looked even more unusual in a tuxedo, but he wanted to impress McCane's ex-wife.  
  
"Poor Mina," Skinner remarked as he tied his bowtie. "I hope she feels better soon."  
  
"I don't think she will," Sawyer said sadly. "Jekyll said she's going to be sick for a week."  
  
"A WEEK?" Nemo and Skinner both stared at him.  
  
Sawyer shrugged. "That's what Jekyll said."  
  
* * *  
  
Even though Andre McCane was one of the most interesting people he'd ever met, Jekyll made up his mind not to go to dinner. For several reasons. One, Mina couldn't be left alone in her room. With the League's luck, she'd probably vomit up a lung before the day was out.  
  
Two, he wanted to make the best impression, and he couldn't make a good impression on anybody with Hyde haunting the back of his mind. He didn't want McCane's wife to catch him talking to Hyde, and he didn't want Hyde to cause any mischief.  
  
Three, Jekyll himself was uncomfortable around strangers. All he needed in life was a few close friends anyway.  
  
So, these were the reasons he told Nemo for not going to dinner.  
  
"I understand, Jekyll," Nemo said, putting a strong hand on Jekyll's weak shoulder. "I understand that you are shy when it comes to meeting others. However, this was something I wanted the whole League to do together. We barely ever get visitors on the Nautilus."  
  
"With Mina sick, Captain, there's already no way that the League is going to do this together."  
  
"True, Jekyll. We don't want our precious Mina to die from lack of care. All right, then, you watch over Mina during dinner. I'll inform the rest of the League about your whereabouts."  
  
Jekyll nodded and breathed a sigh of relief. Even though Mina wasn't exactly good company when she was sick, Jekyll wasn't pushing himself any more than he needed to for the day.  
  
* * *  
  
Beautiful as she looked in her traveling clothes, Batsie Linoge looked even more radiant in the white cocktail dress she wore to dinner. Around her neck was a gorgeous diamond necklace, and her curls were styled so that they encircled her head like a halo. The men of the League just couldn't get over her beauty.  
  
When she entered the Nautilus' dining room, Skinner just stared at her, at a loss for words. For once in his life, he was speechless in front of a woman.  
  
Sawyer wanted desperately to go up and kiss her hand, but he restrained himself from doing so. Like Jekyll, he didn't want to make a fool out of himself on his first meeting with her.  
  
Nemo attempted to bow, but even he couldn't get over Batsie's beauty. As he pushed the top half of his body forward in a bow, he couldn't take his eyes off her.  
  
The only man in the room not transfixed on Batsie was Andre McCane himself. He was acting as if Batsie was just another woman in the room; he wasn't surprised by her brilliance at all. Maybe he was used to it. After all, they had been married for thirteen years.  
  
"Why the heck did they divorce?" Sawyer whispered hoarsely to his comrade Skinner. "She's gorgeous. He's a handsome gentleman. They're a perfect match."  
  
"Why are you asking why?" Skinner hissed back. "She's single. Amen!"  
  
"She's not single. She got remarried to some guy named Simon Linoge."  
  
"You're kidding," said Skinner flatly.  
  
"Skinner, with a woman as beautiful as her, you think she would stay single for long?" Sawyer whispered back to him. "I just hope her outside appearance reflects what she's like inside."  
  
"Mrs. Linoge, I welcome you to the dining room aboard my ship," Nemo smiled at Batsie, bowing again. "And now, we eat."  
  
Batsie just nodded at him and gripped the arm of her ex-husband. "Andre, are seats usually assigned at the Captain's table?"  
  
"Not usually."  
  
Batsie smiled. And the smile put the finishing touch on her beautiful face. "Good. Then please sit beside me."  
  
Skinner, Sawyer, and Nemo pouted simultaneously. Nemo sat at the head of the table, with Skinner and Sawyer to his right and the formerly married couple to his left. Sawyer then discovered something.  
  
"Skinner," he whispered to Skinner. "McCane's sitting BESIDE her. We're sitting ACROSS from her. We get to see right into her face. He doesn't." Skinner smiled out of pure glee.  
  
"We are about to feast on the finest seafood of the world's four oceans," Nemo announced proudly. "But first, we toast. To a happy journey to New Zealand, and to new friends who inspire us with their presence." The four other diners raised their glasses, toasted, and drank.  
  
"And now we feast," Nemo announced. Skinner and Sawyer immediately dug in.  
  
"Wait!" Batsie cried. Everybody turned to look at her. "Captain, excuse me for interrupting dinner, but aren't we going to pray before we eat?"  
  
Astounded at her request, Skinner turned to Sawyer. "Remember what you were saying about her outward appearance reflecting what's inside, Sawyer? Well, considering what she just asked us to do, I believe your hopes will be fulfilled."  
  
Sawyer just smiled and folded his hands in prayer.  
  
*  
  
If anyone has any ideas about what they want to see later on in the story, don't hesitate to leave a comment. I thoroughly consider all ideas sent in, even though I might not use them all. (By the way, this goes for Happy New Year, too. Darn that writer's block.)  
  
~ Alisonia 


	3. Her Bizarre Nature

From the reviews I've read, nobody seems to have a good view of Batsie Linoge. Everybody's quite suspicious. Well, I think those people are going to be a bit surprised later on in the story.  
  
Also, this is the last "happy" chapter. Starting with chapter four, the flood gates are really going to open. And to prevent you all from jumping to any conclusions, I'm going to give you ONE hint of what's to come. Everybody is going to make it through this story alive.  
  
Guaranteed.  
  
*  
  
"So," smiled Sawyer, digging into his clam chowder. "Mrs. Linoge, tell me some more about yourself."  
  
"Well, what would you like to know about me?" asked Batsie Linoge curiously.  
  
"Why are you going to New Zealand? That's awfully far away."  
  
"Oh, I'm meeting my husband there. It's a business trip."  
  
"A working woman?" giggled Skinner. "Interesting! What line of business are you in, my dear?"  
  
Batsie froze, her spoon halfway to her mouth. Quietly, she put her spoon down and wiped her mouth with her napkin. "I heal people," she told Skinner simply.  
  
"Oh, you're a nurse, then? Nursing is a fine line of business for women. Henry's a doctor, as a matter of fact. Have you ever met Henry before?" Sawyer asked.  
  
"Who's Henry?" asked Batsie, turning to Nemo.  
  
"Oh, Tom's referring to Dr. Henry Jekyll. He's aboard the Nautilus with us at this very moment," Nemo explained.  
  
"Well, why isn't he eating with us? I'd love to meet him."  
  
"He's taking care of Mina," Sawyer butt in. "Mina's very sick."  
  
"Who's Mina?"  
  
"Mina's ill?" asked McCane, putting down his soup spoon and turning to Nemo for an explanation. "Why wasn't I notified, Captain?"  
  
"Mina Harker is our ship chemist," Nemo explained, trying to keep his cool as he spoke. He didn't like being bombarded with questions. "And yes, she's quite ill. She has some kind of flu, I think."  
  
Batsie appeared to be in deep thought. "Harker? That name rings a bell. Is she related to Jonathan Harker?"  
  
Sawyer's eyes practically popped out of his head. Skinner just stared at Batsie, unbelieving. Nemo was surprised out of his mind, but once again, he managed to keep his cool. "Yes, Jonathan Harker is her late husband. Mina's a widow; Jonathan's been dead for about ten years."  
  
"I know that," Batsie said. "Jonathan Harker and I are acquainted."  
  
"You mean, you WERE acquainted. He's dead now," Sawyer said, looking at her in a state of suspicion.  
  
Batsie turned to look at her ex-husband. McCane gave her a nod. "I guess you're correct," Batsie stammered, turning back to look at Sawyer. "I guess he's gone now, isn't he?"  
  
Skinner and Sawyer just looked at each other. The way she talked about dead people as if they were still alive seemed strange in itself, but there was something in her aura that made her not quite human. Her beauty and grace certainly seemed to be beyond human.  
  
"Well," Batsie continued, "maybe I should take a look at this Mina Harker. I am a healer, you know. Maybe your Dr. Jekyll needs some assistance."  
  
"That's a brilliant idea," Nemo said. "If you don't mind seeing a sick woman in bed while you are a visitor on my ship."  
  
"Not at all. My work never stops."  
  
Nemo smiled. "I like your attitude."  
  
* * *  
  
"How are you feeling, Mina?" Jekyll asked, taking a thermometer out of his medical bag.  
  
"Miserable," Mina pouted.  
  
"I know you are, Mina," Jekyll said calmly, slipping the thermometer under her tongue, "but you must remain in high spirits. If you tell yourself you'll be okay, you'll certainly get through this fine." Mina nodded, still pouting.  
  
"McCane's here, with his wife," Jekyll remarked casually as he timed how long the thermometer sat under Mina's tongue with his silver pocket watch. "Ex-wife, rather. I haven't met her yet. Maybe, if we're lucky, she's acquainted with some vampires who have suffered this same sickness."  
  
Mina nodded. Jekyll removed the thermometer from her tongue. "A hundred and four," he said sadly. "I'm sorry, Mina. It hasn't gone down a bit. It's higher than ever."  
  
"I'm dying," Mina croaked.  
  
"You're not dying. Stop that talk," Jekyll scolded her lightly.  
  
But Mina just sat on her bed and wept. "If Jonathan were here, he'd make me feel better," she cried. "Just looking into his eyes cured anything I had."  
  
Jekyll knelt on Mina's bed and hugged her. "I know this is no fun, Mina. But for the millionth time, please relax. I know Jonathan isn't here to take care of you, but I am. I'm your new doctor, Mina. If you just give me time, I can study up on this vampire flu you have and give you some remedies of my own, okay?"  
  
Mina nodded, but she held her stomach. "Henry, I think I'm going to be sick to my stomach again."  
  
"No problem, Mina, dear. I'm all ready," said Jekyll softly, picking up the washbasin from Mina's nightstand and holding it under her again.  
  
* * *  
  
After dinner, McCane and Batsie were in McCane's room holding a private conference.  
  
"Okay, if anyone asks you anything," McCane whispered, "we divorced because I cheated on you with Que Moriarty. Understand?"  
  
Batsie doubled over laughing. "But Andre, do you really expect they'll believe that?" she asked truthfully.  
  
"Are you kidding me? They'll believe anything you say," McCane laughed. "Now, here's what we're going to do. I'm going to contact Simon and tell him to meet you in New Zealand in five days. You told them you were meeting your husband there, so that's what's going to happen."  
  
"Right," Batsie nodded, sweat staining her beautiful pale face. She reached down her bosom, pulled out a clean white handkerchief, and began to dab her face with it. "And me?"  
  
"You just go on being you. Pretend you've never met any of these people before. Oh, and two more things," McCane said sternly. "One, quit reading their minds! Two, quit hanging all over me! We're divorced, let's act that way!"  
  
"Andre, I'm just scared!" Batsie hissed. "I don't think I can do this! This is a tough assignment!"  
  
"Batsie, God puts His faith in you," McCane said. "And so do I. Trust me, you can do it!" There was a pause. "By the way, speaking of faith.there's a dying vampire down the hallway."  
  
"Right," Batsie nodded. "Okay, off I go."  
  
*  
  
I've already written chapter four, but I'm going to wait a while before posting it. Just to keep you all in suspense for a while.  
  
Happy reviewing. Heh. 


	4. Death From Influenza

From the reviews I've read so far, it sounds as if everybody is both very anxious and very suspicious. I'm impressed. To reward you all for reviewing, I'm going to reply now to the reviews that have been sent to me in the past 24 hours:  
  
To Henriette: Jekyll's my favorite character too. It's so hard to come up with a decent plot for a Jekyll story, though, especially when you're used to writing comedy.  
  
To Starlight16: Keep you in suspense? Never! Why would I do such a thing? Here's the next chapter, written just for you.  
  
To Clez: I'm glad you're trying to put the pieces of the puzzle together. Like McCane in "The End of the LXG," it may be a bit of a shock once you find out who she really is at the end of the story.  
  
To Graymoon74: Yeah, Jekyll's a sweet man, isn't he? As for Batsie sharing a mirror with Dorian, she really doesn't need to. She didn't WANT to be gorgeous. Nature just made her that way.  
  
To Night Music: Thanks for reading my story! As for the answer to your question, Batsie Gerrard IS of my own creation. I first featured her in an original short story entitled "The Storm," written about 1997. I would tell you what it's about, but I can't. It'll spoil the ending of THIS story!  
  
And here's chapter four. Enjoy the show!  
  
*  
  
Aside from Mina and Jekyll, the rest of the passengers on the Nautilus were enjoying after-dinner cocktails in the Nautilus' lounge.  
  
"Mina hasn't been this sick since her bat sonar was infected a few years ago, and she kept getting mind-splitting headaches," Tom said worriedly.  
  
"Don't worry, Sawyer, I'm sure she's okay," Skinner said. He appeared to be in deep thought. "You know, maybe I should go to the lab and make her an antibiotic."  
  
"NO!" Sawyer, Nemo, and McCane all shouted together.  
  
Skinner shrugged. "Hey, folks, it was just a suggestion."  
  
"And a horrifying one at that," Sawyer shivered. "Skinner, stay OUT of the lab. Remember the last time you went in there?"  
  
"Hey, Andre came along and helped her out," Skinner pointed out.  
  
"Only because I was acting under orders from Que Moriarty," McCane told him.  
  
"Imagine if I wasn't. Mina would have stayed like that forever." That comment was enough to shut Skinner up.  
  
"I'm back," Batsie Linoge appeared breathlessly at the doorway. "I'm sorry that I had to step out of the room for a few moments. I got a message on the telegraph from Simon."  
  
"Oh, is Simon your husband?" asked Sawyer. Batsie nodded.  
  
"What's the chap like?" asked Skinner.  
  
"He's like me, only more sinister," McCane said simply. Sawyer, Skinner, and Nemo all laughed.  
  
"No, I'm serious, he is!" McCane persuaded them.  
  
"He is quite intimidating," Batsie added. "I guess you're right, Andre. He is a more sinister you."  
  
"Remember what I was like that time I pretended to kidnap Sawyer?" McCane asked them. "I was acting like a cruel and inhuman monster. Well, that's Simon Linoge for you."  
  
"Hey," Batsie said, a bit hurt.  
  
"Sorry, Batsie."  
  
* * *  
  
Mina sat up and gasped for air. She badly wanted blood, but she knew she couldn't have any, or else she would be sick again. She badly wanted Jonathan too, but he was dead.  
  
Having Jekyll around was a change. Never before had Mina had her own personal doctor by her bedside 24 hours a day. After a while of taking care of her, Jekyll had refused to leave her. He promised he would stay right by her side until she was better. Jonathan WOULD have done that, but he usually had very important experiments brewing in the lab.  
  
Well, that was his excuse, anyway. Mina knew that Jonathan couldn't stand to be around a sick Mina. It broke his heart.  
  
"Henry, I think this is it," Mina gasped, holding her heart and falling back down onto her bed. "I think these are the last moments of Mina Harker."  
  
"Mina, stop!" Jekyll begged her. "Please stop that! You aren't going to die!"  
  
"I can hear Jonathan calling," Mina whispered quietly. "I can hear him, calling me upwards to the Great Beyond."  
  
"Mina!" scolded Jekyll. "I think you're just delirious from the fever. Here, lie down, and I'll get you a cold compress for your forehead. You poor thing, your fever must have gone up another degree."  
  
Mina just moaned from the pain. She turned in bed and vomited yet again into the washbasin.  
  
"Mina!" Jekyll cried worriedly, fearing she wasn't kidding. "Mina, are you okay?" Without waiting for an answer, Jekyll turned back to the desk, where a water pitcher was sitting. He poured a glass of water for Mina and rushed back over to her.  
  
Choking and white in the face, Mina accepted the glass of water from Jekyll and started drinking greedily.  
  
"Mina, don't drink so fast!" Jekyll cried. "It isn't good for you to do so!"  
  
"It doesn't matter what's good for me now," Mina gasped, after swallowing several gulps of water.  
  
Tears started to run down Jekyll's cheeks. He started to tell himself over and over that Mina was overreacting in her suffering and pain, but something was nagging at him in his heart, telling him that Mina wasn't kidding when she said she was dying.  
  
Jekyll climbed onto Mina's bed, knelt beside her, and felt her forehead. When he was assured that she was burning up even more than before, he reached over toward the nightstand and picked up a white cotton cloth. Dipping the cloth into some freezing water, he put it gently to Mina's forehead.  
  
"Here, Mina. Just lay back and rest, now. Don't you worry, I'll be here for you."  
  
Mina, struggling to breathe, started choking even on her own breaths. "Henry," she wheezed breathlessly. "I have something I wish to tell you."  
  
"Oh, anything, Mina. You can say anything you wish."  
  
Mina turned her head to the side and retched again. Gasping for air, she turned back to him and looked him straight into the eye. "I love you, Henry Jekyll."  
  
"Oh, Mina!" Jekyll, still holding the cool washcloth to Mina's forehead, bent down to hug her.  
  
"There, I've said it," Mina whispered. "And now, I don't believe I can say any more." And before Jekyll could say a single word to her, Mrs. Wilhelmina Harker took her last breath and passed away. Mina was dead.  
  
"Mina?" asked Jekyll worriedly, slapping her cheek gently. "Mina?"  
  
But Mina would not wake up. Jekyll tried shaking her by the shoulders, pinching her cheek, even slapping her across the face. Mina still did not rouse.  
  
Jekyll burst into tears, still unable to believe that Mina had died. He cried so hard that he almost choked on his own breathing.  
  
"Help," he finally gasped. "Someone help me! I need somebody! HELP!!!!!"  
  
* * *  
  
Back in the lounge, Skinner was entertaining them with a whole bunch of hilarious jokes. Between laughs, Nemo finally finished his champagne cocktail and put his empty glass down.  
  
"This has been fun," Nemo chuckled. "But now, we really must get back to reality. Poor Mina is very ill. Let's all pay her a visit."  
  
"Yes, let's," McCane agreed. "I wish to find out her favorite type of flower, so that I can find her a lovely batch to cheer her up with."  
  
"Isn't it white roses?" Sawyer wondered aloud.  
  
But before anybody could say anything, Jekyll's screams for help sounded from the direction of Mina's room.  
  
The whole group gasped and jumped out of their seats. Before they knew what was happening, they were all out the door and rushing down the hall toward Mina's room to see what the matter was.  
  
*  
  
Before you all start flaming, you might want to look back to the beginning of chapter three to refresh yourselves with what I've said earlier. Happy reviewing.  
  
~ Alisonia 


	5. A Shocking Discovery

Okay, it's time once again to respond to comments. These are all the comments I have received in the past 24 hours.  
  
To Clez: I'm glad you're looking forward to more. Yes, killing off Mina was mean, wasn't it? Sadly, it had to be done. Heh.  
  
To bleedingmoon89: Thanks! Jekyll's my favorite character in the LXG.  
  
To starlight16: What a way to go, huh? She loves him and then she dies. I put that in there to make it more dramatic. Sadly, Jekyll can't possibly know if she truly loved him or not. Mina was too delirious with fever. And don't worry, our beloved Henry is going to be okay. Trust me.  
  
To Panzergal: Finally, I hear from you! I wrote this story just for you, and I was waiting to know whether you approved of it or not. (And don't worry about the homework, there are time when I can't review anybody either.) But yes, Jekyll IS very cute, but you'll just have to see if him and Mina ever get together (which, now that Mina's dead, can probably only be achieved if he dies too.)  
  
To Jean-Grey/Phoenix: Am I going to make a sequel? Probably not. But the story's not over yet! I'm just getting started!  
  
To Mina: Did I have to kill Mina? Yes, I'm afraid so. Too bad. But don't worry, the story's not over yet. Let's just wait and see what happens, shall we?  
  
Here's the next chapter. Enjoy.  
  
*  
  
Nemo, Sawyer, Skinner, McCane, and Batsie all burst into Mina's room to find Mina lying on the bed and Jekyll kneeling beside her, bawling.  
  
"What's wrong, Jekyll?" asked Nemo, a sad look upon his face. He had a shrewd idea of what was wrong, but he hoped he wasn't right.  
  
But Jekyll just kept bawling. Sawyer strode forward and examined Mina.  
  
"Good God, she's dead!" Sawyer shrieked in alarm.  
  
Skinner actually fainted. Nemo stared at Sawyer with wide eyes. McCane shook his head in disbelief. Batsie just looked quizzically at the body, not very sure herself.  
  
Sawyer caught McCane shaking his head in doubt, and anger roared up inside him. "I wasn't KIDDING, Andre! Mina's dead!"  
  
"Mina's a vampire. It takes an awful lot for her to die," Nemo said slowly.  
  
"Sawyer, are you sure she's dead?" Sawyer said nothing, but went over to Skinner and tried to revive him.  
  
Seeing Sawyer do a good deed, Nemo was also compelled to help out. He went over to Jekyll and began calming him down. "Come, Henry. You're absolutely hysterical. We'll get you to your room." He looked back at McCane. "McCane?"  
  
"Yes, Captain?"  
  
"Go to the laboratory and once and prepare a sedative for Jekyll."  
  
"Right away, Captain." McCane turned and hurried off towards the Nautilus' laboratory.  
  
Sawyer had picked up Skinner and was carrying him off to his room. Nemo had Jekyll in a comforting embrace. Batsie was watching the scene before her, her eyes like glass. Finally, she snapped out of her trance. "Captain?" she asked him quietly.  
  
Nemo turned to face her. "Yes, Batsie?"  
  
"Please excuse me. I must go my room to get something." Without waiting for him to respond, she had hurried off as well.  
  
Nemo helped Jekyll to his room, where McCane was waiting. Unfortunately, McCane didn't have the sedative Nemo had told him to get. Instead, he held a bottle of what looked like eyedrops.  
  
"I have some leftover tranquilizing drops from the kidnapping incident a while back. They'll knock him out for forty-eight hours."  
  
"Good enough."  
  
McCane slipped a few drops into a glass of water, and Jekyll sipped it, tears continuing to run down his cheeks like an incredibly leaky faucet. Within a few minutes, Jekyll was out cold.  
  
After settling Jekyll in bed, McCane and Nemo returned to Mina's room to examine her body. Inside the room, they found Batsie kneeling beside Mina's bed, her eyes closed and mouth whispering inaudible words under her breath.  
  
She was praying with prayer beads.  
  
* * *  
  
In was conference time again in McCane's stateroom. This time, McCane and Batsie were pacing back and forth in front of the dresser, hands folded behind their backs and eyes narrowed in deep thought.  
  
"Andre, I have it!" Batsie exclaimed suddenly.  
  
"You have what?"  
  
"I have it, Andre! Remember when I was in here earlier complaining that this was going to be a hard job?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Well, he helped me! He heard me worrying, and he killed Mina for me! To help me out!"  
  
"Batsie, Mina died of influenza. Nobody killed her."  
  
"Nobody EXCEPT the one person who always had the chance!" Batsie said, eyes wide. "Oh, Andre, it's great! Now that she's dead, this makes my job so much easier!" Batsie hugged her ex-husband and kissed him on the cheek.  
  
McCane just sighed. "WHY is every woman on this ship always KISSING me?!?!?"  
  
Batsie was already rushing out the door and to her room. "What, that disappoints you for some reason?"  
  
* * *  
  
Several hours later, Nemo slipped back into Jekyll's room with the antidote to the tranquilizing potion McCane had given to Jekyll hours before. Giving Jekyll that powerful 24-hour tranquilizing potion had seemed like a great idea at the time, but Nemo had reconsidered only because giving somebody that powerful of a tranquilizer when their nerves were already shot would have absolutely disastrous results. As he injected the powerful antidote into Jekyll's veins, Jekyll's eyes fluttered wildly.  
  
"Nemo?" asked Jekyll. "Where am I?"  
  
"In your room, Henry. You were absolutely hysterical, so we knocked you out for a while."  
  
Immediately upon hearing this, Jekyll broke down again. "Oh, Captain!" he cried. "Mina, she's dead! She died in my very arms!"  
  
Nemo kept calm, trying to convey to Jekyll that keeping calm in a situation like this was the best thing to do. "How did she die, Henry?"  
  
"Well, her stomach was acting up again, and I knew, even without taking her temperature, that her fever had risen even higher. It was getting hard for her to breathe because her windpipe was so blocked with fluid, and she was so very weak and so dehydrated from vomiting that she just died."  
  
"So, it could have been anything. She could have died from a high temperature, or a blocked windpipe, OR dehydration."  
  
"Pretty much. I just know she died from influenza. I didn't know it could be that fatal to her."  
  
Nemo put a comforting arm around Jekyll's shoulder. "Henry, anything can be fatal. Anything. You just have to use your imagination." There was silence for a few minutes; Jekyll just sobbed and sobbed.  
  
"I can't believe that I couldn't save her," Jekyll wept. "I've had patients die in my care before, but never of simple influenza. Usually my patients die in surgery. And no loss has been more painful than losing Mina. I just CAN'T believe I LOST her, Nemo!" Jekyll screamed hysterically. "I'm a rotten physician. I should just quit."  
  
"Jekyll, don't say that. I've lost several hundred crew members, but I don't consider myself a rotten ship captain."  
  
"But Nemo, you don't understand. They didn't die BECAUSE of you. Mina died BECAUSE of me. I didn't know much about the illness she had, that vampire influenza. If I would have known more about it, I could have saved her. But I didn't, and she died."  
  
"Jekyll, people die of influenza constantly. Mina was just another victim. I know for a fact that her husband died in illness, as well."  
  
"But it isn't FAIR, Nemo. It isn't fair. It happened so fast. Just yesterday, she was feeling a little dizzy, so we told her to lie down. Today, she's dead. It just isn't fair."  
  
"Life isn't fair, Jekyll. You know that."  
  
"I know that, but I don't accept it," Jekyll sniffled. "First, a simple chemistry accident causes Hyde to appear. Then, I get kicked out of London, just because of Hyde. And now, I've killed a colleague. Let's face it, Nemo," he said, looking up at him. "My life is completely rotten."  
  
*  
  
I think you can all guess what's going to happen next. But just in case you have no idea, don't worry. I'll try to update soon.  
  
~ Alisonia 


	6. Batsie Meets Jekyll

I'm back, and like usual, here are the responses to all the reviews I have received in the past 24 hours.  
  
To Clez: Yep. Poor everyone. Sigh.  
  
To Night Music: The reason that Jekyll doesn't reflect on Mina loving him is that he's so in shock by her death that it never crosses his mind (sorry, I should have made that clearer in the story.) Oh, and about Batsie.you may be surprised at the end of the story.  
  
To Starlight 16: Jekyll feels much better now that you've comforted him. As for Batsie liking it that Mina has died, wait a few more chapters, and you'll see why that is.  
  
To A_LXG_fan: I laughed when I read your comment! Yeah, Batsie probably is a name the Joker would call Batman. By the way.I'm really not sure that Batsie can be considered a Mary Sue. Nobody ends up falling in love with her, and she's not even human!  
  
To 20xd6: You're absolutely right. Normally, Nemo wouldn't be all lovey-dovey over a girl. However, Batsie isn't just any regular girl. You'll soon see what I mean.  
  
To IDUNWANNA: *chasing you around in circles* YEAH I KILLED HER YEAH I KILLED HER YEAH I KILLED HER AND BY INFLUENZA TOO!!!!!  
  
To IDUNWANNA (again): Aw, don't cry. Here, borrow my Jekyll plushie. He'll cheer you up.  
  
Anyway, here's the next chapter, so enjoy!  
  
*  
  
The night passed in a blur. Neither Jekyll nor Nemo got much sleep that night. Skinner and Sawyer took sleeping pills before bed, but still had troubled night sleeps. Andre McCane sat up at his desk all night long, thinking mysterious thoughts about Mina and her death. However, in the room adjacent to McCane's, Batsie Linoge slept peacefully with a smile on her face.  
  
The following morning, Jekyll refused to go to breakfast, saying that he was not hungry. Nemo had hot herbal tea delivered to his room anyway.  
  
Meanwhile, in the dining room, none of the passengers ate, but only drank coffee and tea. "I've been thinking about this, and I want you all to hear my idea," Nemo announced. "I say we place Mina's body in a glass coffin and fill the coffin with beautiful flowers. When we return to London, we will bury her next to her husband."  
  
"I agree," Sawyer nodded.  
  
"As do I," Skinner added.  
  
"Coffin?" asked Andre McCane, a look of horror coming upon his face. "Oh, no!"  
  
"Andre, what is it?" asked Batsie, turning to her husband, concerned.  
  
"Nemo, we can't place Mina in a glass coffin. She's a vampire. Don't we have to cut off her head, drive a stake through her heart, and stuff her mouth with garlic before we bury her?"  
  
There was a silence. "Yes, I suppose so," said Nemo quietly. "All right, no glass coffin. We'll make it a beautiful one made out of white chrome."  
  
"You mean, like the metal of the Nemomobile?" asked Sawyer.  
  
"Exactly," Nemo nodded.  
  
Batsie sighed. "Captain," she addressed Nemo, "if we must give Mina a proper burial, my journey to New Zealand shall have to wait. We must turn this ship around and head straight for London at once."  
  
"Batsie, no. You must be in New Zealand in four days," McCane reminded her, alarmed at her suggestion.  
  
"Burying the dead with respect is a priority in the Lord's eyes," Batsie said to him. "We must give Mina a proper burial."  
  
Nemo looked at Batsie for a long time. Finally, he nodded. "All right. If you're sure this is what you want to do, Mrs. Linoge, we will return to London at once to bury Mina. As of now, we are in the South Atlantic Ocean a few hundred miles from the coast of Brazil. It'll take us about another two days to return to London."  
  
"Two days," McCane whispered to Batsie. "Is that enough time for you to complete your mission?"  
  
"If I act swiftly," Batsie replied. "I know I must complete my mission before Mina is buried!"  
  
* * *  
  
Down in the lowest deck of the Nautilus, crewmen had discovered scraps of white chrome left from when the Nemomobile had been built a few years ago. Carefully, they began to piece them together to build a coffin for Mina.  
  
Batsie, who had discovered she was just a size smaller than Mina had been, donated a beautiful white satin dressing gown for Mina to be buried in.  
  
"Let's hope she fits it," Sawyer remarked. "But are you sure that white is wise? I mean, imagine all of the blood that will soak it after we cut off her head and drive a stake through her heart."  
  
"White will guarantee that she will reach Paradise," Batsie replied. "And with a heavy heart such as hers, she cannot afford to spend eternity without her husband."  
  
"How do you know Jonathan made it to Paradise?"  
  
"I told you last night, boy. I know him."  
  
"KNEW him, rather."  
  
"Yes, quite right."  
  
Mina's body rested on her bed. Her hair had been carefully brushed, and makeup applied to her face. Her arms were folded in the traditional position of a corpse. She awaited placement into her coffin.  
  
* * *  
  
Meanwhile, Jekyll had never quite gotten over the fact that he hadn't been able to save Mina. He cried all morning and all afternoon. Edward Hyde, who was revolted by Jekyll's crying, had actually left Jekyll's body. The form of Henry Jekyll was now occupied by just Henry Jekyll alone. However, Henry was too upset to enjoy his freedom.  
  
Jekyll's room was located only two doors away from McCane's room, and only one door away from Batsie's room. Hearing his crying late into the afternoon, Batsie came over to investigate.  
  
"You are Dr. Henry Jekyll," Batsie announced quietly, standing in Jekyll's doorway and looking at him. "You are a good man with a big heart. The Lord adores you, Henry."  
  
"How do you know that?" Jekyll cried. "Who are you? What are you doing in my room? I don't want to be bothered, GO AWAY!" Jekyll had never met Batsie before. As long as Batsie had been aboard the Nautilus, he had never managed to actually meet her.  
  
"My name is Batsie Elizabeth Gerrard McCane Linoge," Batsie said quietly. "I am Andre McCane's ex-wife."  
  
Jekyll just stared at her, tears still streaming down his cheeks. So this was McCane's ex-wife. As he looked at her, he noticed the white dress she was wearing. "HOW can you wear white at a time like this? Mina Harker is dead!"  
  
"I wear white every day."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Because I have to," Batsie replied. After another sorrowful glance at him, she left.  
  
Jekyll remembered how he had told Nemo he wanted to make a good impression on Batsie. Well, considering he had bawled their entire first meeting, and how he had told her to go away, Jekyll just cried some more. He hadn't made a decent first impression on her. Batsie probably thought he was a big crybaby.  
  
He wondered if what she had said had been right. The Lord adored him. Well, if the Lord adored him, did Batsie adore him? Well, Jekyll didn't care if she ADORED him, just as long as she regarded him as a decent, respectful man.  
  
Which, after their first meeting, she probably didn't.  
  
Jekyll just cried some more. He had been crying for almost a day straight now. His stomach hurt like a sharp dagger was punching through it, and he felt a fever seeping in. He was getting sick from crying too hard.  
  
Enough was enough. Jekyll got up from bed, staggered over to his lab table beside his desk, and hastily threw together a powerful sleeping potion, his hands shaking as he poured together the ingredients.  
  
As he downed it, he thought silently to himself. "You know, what if I accidently swallowed a deadly overdose of sleeping potion? What if I accidently poisoned myself by throwing something dangerous into my sleeping potion? What if I, Dr. Henry Jekyll, decided to end my life?"  
  
Well, he thought sleepily, wondering back over to his bed, if he died, he wouldn't have to worry about Hyde anymore. Or his reputation in London. Or losing any more friends from influenza. Or making bad first impressions.  
  
Being dead would actually have a lot of advantages for Jekyll. But now, he was way too tired. The sleeping potion settled in and Jekyll started right off to sleep.  
  
He would deal with himself when he woke up.  
  
*  
  
Starlight 16, if you're reading this, you might want to comfort Jekyll some more. He definitely needs it.  
  
I've already written chapter seven, but I'm going to wait a while before I post it. To let you all reflect on this one first.  
  
~ Alisonia 


	7. Thoughts of Suicide

Greetings, readers. Time to respond to reviews.  
  
To Mina: Poor Jekkie-boo is right. By the way, who says vampires can't have children? At the end of the "Dracula" novel, Mina and Jonathan have a son. I wanted to include him in this story, but it would complicate things even more.  
  
To Clez: I'm really not sure if one can dehydrate from crying. You might want to talk to Lucien about that *smiles at Lucien*  
  
To Starlight16: It's nice to know that Dr. Jekyll is dazed from your frequent kissing. You might want to keep it up after this chapter (if that isn't a warning of things to come, I don't know what is.)  
  
To IDUNWANNA: Hunt me down and beat me with a rubber chicken? Go ahead, I dare you. In fact, I have a rubber fox that will EAT YOUR RUBBER CHICKEN!!!!!  
  
To Lucien: Thanks for clearing that up for me. I heard that you could get sick from crying, but I wasn't sure if it was true or not. I just thought it would be neat to have in the story.  
  
AND NOW FOR A VERY IMPORTANT WARNING. I'm seriously thinking about bringing the rating of this story up to "R" just because of this chapter. If you thought Mina vomiting in Jekyll's presence was bad, then please do not read this. If you are grossed out by suicide, PLEASE DO NOT READ THIS. This is your final warning.  
  
However, if you're interested to see how the story goes (and I certainly would be if I were you all,) then please proceed.  
  
*  
  
A few hours later, Henry Jekyll awoke in his own bed. At first, he was confused; he thought he had given himself a powerful sleeping potion. Surely then, he would be asleep for more than a few hours. However, he figured that he must have made a mistake in mixing the ingredients together. After all, his hands had been shaking terribly.  
  
Jekyll had had a weird dream. In it, he had been talking to Mina. Mina was well again, and smiling as she talked. She told Jekyll that she was very happy with her husband.  
  
"But Mina, your husband has been dead for about ten years," Jekyll had said to her, confused.  
  
Suddenly, Mina's kindly face began to sob. She clutched Jekyll's coat, fell against his body, and began crying horribly. "I loved you, Henry," she sobbed. "I loved you! But then you had to kill me!!! Why did you let me die, Henry??"  
  
"Mina, you just told me that you were happy!! What's the matter??"  
  
"I AM happy with Jonathan, Henry. But I would be even happier if I was with you."  
  
Not knowing what to say to her, Jekyll just hugged her against his chest. Mina continued to sob. Jekyll held her in a tight embrace, and her salty tears touched his cheek. Suddenly, everything was blurry again, and he was awake. Awake in his own bed.  
  
Jekyll wanted to go visit Mina's body, but he couldn't for two reasons. One, he didn't know if she was still in her room. Nemo or somebody might have moved the body somewhere else. Two, he knew he couldn't look at it without crying.  
  
How could he go on this way? How could he possibly go on like this, with a guilty conscience and a heavy heart? By his foolishness and lack of medical knowledge, he had killed someone. Not only someone, but a lady. A teammate. A member of the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.  
  
Jekyll knew he couldn't go on this way. But what could he do about it? His first thought was to quit the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. But if he quit, he knew he wouldn't get his pardon from the English government. He would have to spend the rest of his life in Paris, where Hyde would terrorize one neighborhood after another.  
  
And if he were in Paris, how would he support himself? He was a doctor, but he couldn't go back to work. Not after Mina died. What if another vampire landed upon his doorstep, suffering from the vampire influenza? What would he do?  
  
Hot tears ran down Jekyll's cheeks. No, he couldn't move back to Paris. He couldn't move anywhere, really. No matter where he lived, he would have to support himself. To support himself, he would have to practice medicine again. Jekyll wasn't very fit to do anything else; he was very weak, and he didn't have any body strength. Medicine was the only thing he really could do.  
  
The Nautilus was the only place where Jekyll could live without financial worries. On the Nautilus, he was provided with food, shelter, and clothing, as long as he served for the League. But with Mina dead, how could he possibly go on with the League?  
  
Allan Quartermain had died while serving with the League. But he was killed by the Fantom. Jekyll hadn't killed Quartermain. After mourning his death, the League found it easy to go on fighting. But they still missed him very much.  
  
Jekyll took a deep breath, his chest trembling, and thought. From his youth, he was always taught that suicide was very foolish. It was the coward's way to die. A real man stayed alive and faced his problems.  
  
But was Jekyll a real man? No. Hyde was a real man. Hyde was strong, and Hyde knew how to face his problems; he just killed somebody. It was necessarily the right thing to do, but Hyde did it. And Hyde was always nagging at Jekyll to be a real man. Jekyll was just a baby, Hyde often said.  
  
However, Jekyll didn't see any other options. It was either live with pain, or die with pleasure.  
  
This time, he was going to be happy. He was going to die with pleasure.  
  
* * *  
  
In his own room two doors down, McCane was rummaging through a trunk at the edge of his bed. He was looking for something important.  
  
He finally found what it was and replaced the lid of the trunk. In his hand, he held a small, black velvet jeweler's box. Opening it carefully, he discovered a ring. In was just a plain, gold band, but it was made of pure gold. Mina had given it to him on New Years' Eve of last year. It was a token of appreciation for being so nice to her, when Skinner and Sawyer had been especially nasty.  
  
At first, McCane had been grateful. Then, he had grown suspicious.  
  
"Mina," he remembered saying to her. "Would you really like me to marry you?"  
  
Mina looked at him, shyly. "Well, no," she began, "but I just love you, Andre. Not like I would a husband, but like a friend. You're so nice to me!"  
  
McCane had worn the ring that night, but afterwards, he had taken it off and never really worn it again. But he looked at it several times. And each time, he remembered sweet Mina.  
  
The ring in his hand, he left his room and tiptoed across the hall to Mina's room. Approaching the bed, he gently lifted one of Mina's slender ring fingers and placed the ring around it.  
  
"Mina, I can never look at this again," he muttered to her, admiring the ring on her finger. "It reminds me too much of you. And I'm sorry, but I don't want to have a broken heart, not unless I must."  
  
Mina just lie there, dead and helpless. Carefully, McCane bent down and kissed her cheek. "Oh, Mina," he said sadly. "You died of influenza. What an especially painful way to go!"  
  
* * *  
  
His hands trembling, Jekyll flipped through a book of deadly poisons that had been on a shelf in his bedroom. He could not believe he was going to kill himself. But he was.  
  
"Can I really go through with this?" he muttered aloud. "Can I do this without chickening out, as usual?"  
  
"Think of Mina," a voice in the back of his head said to him. "Think of Mina. You killed Mina!"  
  
"Okay, yes, I can do this," Jekyll said quickly.  
  
Fidgeting, he closed the book and put it back down on her desk. Hands trembling, he reached into his medical bag and pulled out a thermometer. In fact, the very one he used to take Mina's temperature.  
  
The thermometer still read one hundred and four degrees, the temperature of the painful fever that Mina had suffered. Picking up an empty beaker and a small knife, he held the thermometer over the side of the beaker and started cutting off the end of the thermometer with the knife.  
  
He was going to empty the thermometer of its mercury.  
  
*  
  
Okay, by this point, I'm crying. I just want to give Jekyll a nice, big cuddle and tell him that everything is going to be okay.  
  
Sadly, though, I can't. But don't worry, folks, the story isn't over yet. Just remember that! We still have a long way to go.  
  
Excuse me, I have to go find my Mina and Jekyll plushies.  
  
~ Alisonia 


	8. Mina's Coffin

Greetings, avid readers! I hope everyone is doing well. Here the review responses for chapter seven:  
  
To Graymoon74 (for chapter three): Geez, you too? When everyone else read chapter three, they didn't trust McCane or Batsie either. I can't blame you, but I'm glad that you're lazy; I think I'm quite safe now. (If you're reading this, I assume you know that Mina is dead.)  
  
To Starlight16: Mina used to like McCane, but since he isn't an actual member of the League and doesn't hang out with the League very often, Mina turned to her attention to someone she saw every day (Jekyll.) That's the reason for Mina's two-timing behavior when it comes to men. I'm not sure if I mentioned that in "Happy New Year" or not (probably not,) but thanks for bringing that up.  
  
To Clez: *handing Clez's plushie another cookie* Here you go, little guy. Have another cookie. You're so upset that you deserve it! *plushie eats cookie happily and then turns to look at Clez's computer screen. I shield his eyes* Don't you dare look at that computer screen!  
  
To Dr. Logana Jekyll: Your review was the longest review I've ever received in my life. No, I don't really have a Jekyll plushie. I like to pretend I do, though. By way way, how will you be able to kill Henry if he's already dead? (Also, thanks for telling me that you like my Jekyll. Do you agree with me that he's a more lovable character without Hyde around?)  
  
To Mina: It's perfectly okay that you can't spell "resurrect." I also had trouble with it when I was writing this story.  
  
*  
  
"Hey, Jekyll!"  
  
Tom Sawyer threw open the door to Dr. Jekyll's room, where the doctor was seated at his desk, apparently doing some kind of experiment.  
  
"Yes?" Dr. Jekyll asked, looking over his shoulder at Sawyer. Jekyll's face was still extremely sad and wan-looking.  
  
"I'm sorry to disturb you," said Sawyer quietly, "but would you mind taking a potion for us? Mina's coffin is done, and we're going to need Hyde's strength in helping us carry it up to her room."  
  
"I'm sorry, Tom," Jekyll replied sadly, "but Hyde's kind of avoiding me at the moment. The feelings of melancholy that I've been experiencing lately have made him revolted. He's left me for a while."  
  
"Oh," said Sawyer, looking concerned. "Well, could YOU help us out, then? We're going to need all the men we can get."  
  
"Well, I guess I could give it a try. I'll be right down," said Jekyll quietly.  
  
Sawyer smiled at him and left. At his desk, Jekyll cursed under his breath. Why hadn't he swallowed the mercury a few minutes earlier? He would be dead by now, and Sawyer would have found his body right away.  
  
On Jekyll's desk was a cup of freshly made tea and a beaker filled with a few drops of mercury from the broken thermometer. Jekyll's plan was to pour the mercury into the tea and drink the tea. He would be dead and gone in two minutes flat. It would be a nice, quick way to go.  
  
But now they needed help moving Mina's coffin. Jekyll wondered if he should just drink the poisoned tea now and have them come up to look for him, or actually go down to help them and kill himself later.  
  
Jekyll decided to go down and help. After all, he wanted to say a proper goodbye to Mina before he died. Mina's corpse, rather. Mina had said a proper goodbye to him before she died.  
  
Jekyll crossed over to his dresser, opened up the top drawer, took out a clean handkerchief, and put it in his trouser pocket. He would need it when he saw Mina's coffin. No matter how beautiful it was, it was still Mina Harker's coffin.  
  
Mina was still dead.  
  
* * *  
  
"Okay, on the count of three, everybody lifts," Nemo announced. "One, two, three!"  
  
Sawyer, Skinner, Nemo, Jekyll, McCane, and five other crewmen quickly lifted up Mina's coffin, trying to head towards the door with it. However, it was so heavy that they put it back down on the workbench right away.  
  
"Okay, coffins shouldn't be this heavy," Sawyer grumbled. "Back home, we typically need only about three or four pallbearers."  
  
"White chrome is heavy, though," Skinner pointed out. "It's like trying to lift the Nemomobile."  
  
Jekyll moaned and clutched his left arm. "I think I pulled a muscle!"  
  
"Jekyll, go upstairs and get some ice to put on that arm. While you're up there, send down much more crewmen." Jekyll nodded and left.  
  
"I'll go get Batsie," McCane said, starting to go after him.  
  
"No, McCane. She's a woman. She shouldn't be involved in this kind of labor," Nemo said.  
  
McCane just smiled smugly at him. "Trust me, Captain. She can help us."  
  
"That may be so, but I refuse to allow it. Captain's orders," said Nemo stiffly. "She's a woman and she's our guest."  
  
McCane just looked at him, the smug look still on his face. "Very well," he said. "But trust me, you'll be sorry."  
  
In a few more minutes, Jekyll was back with at least twenty more crewmen. McCane was still out of the room, but they decided to lift again anyway. However, with twenty-eight people lifting, they were only able to carry it a few feet before they had to set it back down again.  
  
"We should get every crew member aboard this ship. Then we'd be able to do it," panted Sawyer.  
  
"I can't understand why it's so heavy," added Skinner. "Can't we just go up to Mina's room, carry her body down here, and place it in the coffin? Then, when we dock in London tomorrow, we'll only have to worry about moving the coffin off the ship."  
  
Nemo froze. "Now, why didn't I think of that in the first place? Come, Skinner. You and I will go upstairs and get Mina's body."  
  
"Why me?"  
  
"Because you suggested it."  
  
The crewmen, seeing nothing else they could do, left and went back to work. As several of them were leaving, Batsie came downstairs. She saw the coffin and gasped.  
  
"It that poor Mina's coffin? Oh, it looks gorgeous!"  
  
Sawyer nodded. "Yeah," he muttered, wiping several tears from his eyes.  
  
Batsie saw Jekyll holding an ice pack to his left arm. "Henry, what happened to your arm?" she asked kindly.  
  
Jekyll looked at her, surprised that she was treating him so nicely after how he had treated her earlier. "Oh, I pulled a muscle trying to lift it. I'm not meant for heavy labor."  
  
"But you still offered to help. That was very noble of you, Henry."  
  
Nemo and Skinner came back into the room, bearing Mina's body. Her corpse was still beautifully dressed and made up. Sawyer and McCane lifted the coffin's heavy lid, and Mina was gently lifted into her coffin.  
  
"She just fits," smiled McCane.  
  
Nemo nodded. "Now, should we do the vampire burying ritual of dismembering her head and driving a stake through her heart now or later?"  
  
"Later," said Batsie automatically. "It will be the last thing we do before we put her into the ground."  
  
Nemo nodded again. "Close her coffin," he ordered McCane and Sawyer sadly. "I can't bear to look at her anymore." McCane and Sawyer did so.  
  
Nemo, McCane, Sawyer, Skinner, Jekyll, and Batsie all stood around and looked at Mina's coffin.  
  
Sawyer burst into tears and ran out of the room. Jekyll followed him, wiping his eyes with the handkerchief he had stuffed into his pocket.  
  
Skinner took the black hat off of his head and laid it on top of the coffin. "Here, old girl." He patted the top of the coffin and sadly left the room.  
  
Nemo approached the coffin. "Oh, Mina," he sighed, placing both of his hands beside Skinner's hat. "Don't worry, Mina. We're going to bury you right beside your husband in the quiet English countryside. You've gone to your eternal sleep, Mina. It's time for us to put you down to bed." He turned to McCane and Batsie. "Excuse me, I must go pray to Kali."  
  
McCane just nodded absently. Without taking his eyes off of the coffin, he spoke to his ex-wife. "Batsie, please pray for Mina."  
  
Batsie looked at him curiously. "You think I was going to do anything less?"  
  
McCane shrugged. "Well, I don't know. You've never even met Mina."  
  
"Andre, prayers are not just for those we know. They're for everybody."  
  
McCane nodded. "Well, I think I'm going to try to calm Sawyer down." With that, he turned and left the room.  
  
Batsie was left alone with the coffin.  
  
*  
  
At this point, the story becomes drastically real. Mina actually has a coffin. Mina is actually going to be buried. Mina really is dead.  
  
But will she be the only one that dies? What about Jekyll? Will he really go through with his poison?  
  
~ Until next time, Alisonia 


	9. Resurrected!

I was kind of surprised when I checked my e-mail this morning and found all of these reviews. But the bad news is, now I have to respond to all of them!  
  
To Mina: It pleases me that you are so curious about Batsie's assignment. Unfortunately, you're going to have to wait until it comes out in the story.  
  
To Lucien (for chapter 7): I wrote this story at Panzergal's request, and Panzergal hasn't yet complained about there being no Hyde in the story. Also, yes, the thermometer is broken. Mina's fever was so high it broke the thermometer. That's one of the reasons Jekyll has decided to*use it*, if you know what I mean.  
  
To Lucien (for chapter 8): "Torture him all you want?" I can't do that to Jekyll! That's why he's being poisoned, so he doesn't have to suffer through torture!  
  
To Graymoon74 (for chapter 4): "Recycle" Mina? I'm sorry, but that phrase just brought up some bad pictures in my mind. It sounds like you want me to be cannibalistic and have the members of the League eat her now that she's dead. I can resurrect her, sure, but not "recycle" her.  
  
To Graymoon74 (for chapter 5): You can be assured that if Mina stays dead, she will have one of the nicest burials in history. Guaranteed.  
  
To Graymoon74 (for chapter 6): You're right about there being no resurrection if Mina is chopped up. That's why Batsie said not to cut her head off until the moment she's being buried in the ground.  
  
To Graymoon74 (for chapter 7): I can. That's why I'm toying with the notion of killing Jekyll as well : )  
  
To Graymoon74 (for chapter 8): There will be no limbs removed from Mina in this story. That I can promise you! I'm glad you like my story.  
  
To Clez: *takes out two miniature handkerchiefs and hands one to Tom plushie, one to Jekyll plushie* here you go, little guys. I know it's hard, but this will all be over soon. Help is on the way.  
  
*  
  
It was late in the evening, and Jekyll sat at the kitchen table with a cup of tea (not poisoned, thankfully.) After hours of deliberation, he decided that he was still going to kill himself, but later. He didn't want to be interrupted again.  
  
Jekyll checked his silver pocket watch and realized that it was eleven at night. Around three in the morning, he'd take a walk around the Nautilus, and if everybody was still asleep, he'd poison himself then. But right now, he was sitting at the kitchen table with a small cup of tea and a large bout of insomnia. He was still guilty about what he had done to Mina.  
  
And then there was Batsie. There was something about her that didn't seem quite right. She had incredible beauty that had even paralyzed Nemo. It was almost as if she wasn't quite human. Well, knowing McCane and his taste in women, she probably WASN'T human.  
  
Jekyll wondered where McCane even met all of these strange and exotic women, anyway. If there was anything Jekyll wanted in the world, it was a wife. A wife that loved him for what he was. A wife that didn't mind Hyde at all. Maybe McCane could fix him up with a wife.  
  
If she wasn't a vampire, that is. He didn't want to run the risk of letting her die if she came down with the vampire flu.  
  
Jekyll was still thinking about Mina and marriage when he heard footsteps come into the kitchen. The footsteps were soft and gentle. It was probably Batsie herself.  
  
Jekyll looked up, expecting to see a perfectly permed and refreshed woman with skin the color of fresh milk, wearing a beautiful beaded white nightgown and slender ballet slippers, but that's not what he saw.  
  
What he saw instead was Mina Harker, wearing a large burgundy bathrobe.  
  
Jekyll was so shocked to see her that he completely forgot about what she was doing there in the first place, and instead, focused upon her burgundy bathrobe. "That's not what we buried you in!" he gasped.  
  
"Whad?" asked Mina, apparently with a stuffed nose. "Whed did you eber bury be?" ("What? When did you ever bury me?")  
  
"Well, we didn't exactly bury you yet, we just laid you in a coffin. Mina, that's not even what you were wearing yesterday when you died!"  
  
"Whed did I die?" asked Mina, confused. "Jekyll, I'be just beed asleep." ("When did I die? Jekyll, I've just been asleep!")  
  
"You died yesterday. The day before yesterday, rather. You died right in my arms, Mina! I was about to kill myself because you died!"  
  
Mina just stared at him, her jaw practically to the floor. There was a long silence. "Dodctor Jekyll, I think thad's the bost ridiculous thidg you'b eber said. Eber. You gabe be a sleepig potion, rebeber? I'be beed asleep this whole tibe." ("Doctor Jekyll, that's the most ridiculous thing you've ever said. Ever. You gave me a sleeping potion, remember? I've been asleep this whole time.")  
  
"Mina, you're very delirious," Jekyll said, getting up and going over to her. He put a hand upon her forehead. "That fever must be at least one hundred and seven now. I want to know how you suddenly rose from the dead and are now walking in this kitchen. By the way, why are you in the kitchen to begin with?"  
  
"I cabe to ged a glass of oradge juice. By flu boved from by stobach to by head. I cad barely breathe." ("I came to get a glass of orange juice. My flu moved from my stomach to my head. I can barely breathe.") Mina sniffed, reached into the pocket of the large burgundy bathrobe, pulled out a white handkerchief, and blew her nose.  
  
"Okay, Mina. That's it. We're putting you back to bed. I don't know how you rose from the dead. In fact, I don't think I want to know. I just want you back in bed. Then I'm making myself a nice, powerful sleeping potion and knocking myself out for the next couple of days. When I wake up, I'll just ask somebody why you're alive again, and then maybe this will make a lot more sense."  
  
Mina blew her nose a second time. Now her head was cleared, and she could talk through an unplugged nose again. "You know, Henry, I think you've caught my flu. I think YOU'RE the one who's delirious. I feel perfectly fine. I just have a slight fever and a terrible head cold. You're the one who probably feels awful."  
  
"ONLY a slight fever and a terrible head cold? Mina, that cold could turn into pneumonia if it's not treated properly."  
  
Mina wasn't listening to him. "Henry, I haven't been dead, and nobody's built me a coffin. Period. I've just been asleep for the past two days. You even gave me the sleeping potion yourself. It was one of those powerful 48-hour ones, remember?"  
  
Jekyll ignored her question. Of course he didn't remember. "When you woke up tonight, where were you?"  
  
"In bed, of course!!!"  
  
"What were you wearing? I've never seen that bathrobe before in my life, especially not on you."  
  
"I was wearing my brown knit nightgown, the same thing I was wearing when you put me to sleep. This bathrobe is McCane's ex-wife's. Actually, she told me it's her husband's, but he never wears it, so she borrows it a lot."  
  
"How did you get it from her?"  
  
"I was walking here to the kitchen, and she saw me without a robe on, so she lent me this one. She said I shouldn't be walking through the drafty corridors without a robe if I have a head cold. Why all of these questions?"  
  
"Mina, you were dead!!! Skinner, Sawyer, Nemo, McCane, his ex-wife, AND I all saw you in your coffin no more than five hours ago."  
  
"Henry, I haven't the faintest idea what you are talking about!" Mina put her hand to Henry's head. "Hmm. You don't seem to have a fever. Does your head hurt in any way, Henry? Do you feel dizzy at all?"  
  
"Mina, you're the one who's sick, not me!!!" At that moment, Mina sneezed explosively, causing Jekyll to further prove his point. "See?"  
  
"Henry, you're not well if you think I've been dead, because I haven't. Come on, I'll get my orange juice later. We're taking you to bed right away."  
  
"No, Mina. I'm going to get to the bottom of this. You were dead, and I have witnesses. I'm going to ask them right now." With that statement, Jekyll walked out the kitchen door and slammed it shut. No dead woman was going to make a fool out of him. He was going to get to the bottom of this if it was the last thing he did.  
  
It wouldn't have been as strange if Mina had woken up in her coffin, wearing Batsie's white dress. After all, vampires were undead, weren't they? Even if they died in illness, they were supposed to be undead. But she had woken up in bed. Wearing her usual nightgown. Claiming she had been asleep. And she had a head cold, too! If Mina had been dead and rose in her coffin, she wouldn't have the head cold. Either she would be completely better, or she would still have that stomach flu.  
  
Meanwhile, back in the kitchen, Mina was pouring herself a glass of orange juice. Thank goodness her stomach was all better. She needed vitamin C if she was going to beat this awful cold.  
  
Mina sniffled and sneezed, pulled the thick robe tighter around her, picked up her glass of orange juice, and started back to her room. "I should have gone after Henry," she thought to herself. "Nobody that delirious should be allowed out of bed."  
  
But Mina needed to get back to bed herself if she was ever going to get well. She figured that Nemo, Sawyer, and the others would take care of Jekyll themselves. Everyone had seen Mina asleep in bed. On her way to the kitchen, everyone had asked her if she had had enough sleep and if her stomach was feeling better. Everyone had offered to give her vitamin tablets, cough syrup, or extra handkerchiefs for her cold. Nemo even had a vapor machine that he wanted to put in her room, so the warm vapor could clear her head.  
  
Mina hoped Henry Jekyll would be okay. She didn't know if non- vampires could get the vampire flu, but if they could, she sure hoped the others put Jekyll to bed right away.  
  
*  
  
I have summaries of all the remaining chapters outlined. So, I know what's going to happen to everybody, and the rest of you don't! Ha! (Sorry to be mean, but it's nice to have a sense of power as a writer.) By the way, nothing can change my mind, either. What happens will happen.  
  
~ Alisonia 


	10. Delirious Raving

Okay, here are the review replies. It seems that a lot of you are confused about the story in general. This is good! We're getting places!  
  
To Clez: My Jekyll plushie has this very confused look on his face. He hasn't the slightest idea what's going on, and it's starting to make him extremely upset. So for his sake, and yours, I will continue with the story.  
  
To Starlight16 (for chapter eight): Yes, all hatred melts away once we see poor dead Mina in her coffin. The poor thing!  
  
To Starlight16 (for chapter nine): Don't worry, everything will be explained. By the end of the story, you'll understand what's going on. And don't worry, I will never fail to update the soonest that I possibly can.  
  
To Mina: I'm glad you're grateful, because I'm not. I wanted to keep her dead : ( (just kidding.) But anyway, I'm glad you're curious. I feel like I've done my job.  
  
To Lucien: You have some very good theories, but unfortunately, none of them are right : ) For the real explanation, keep on reading the story!  
  
To Graymoon74: I'm glad you're thinking too hard! Thinking is good for the mind. By the way, thanks for proving a point. I guess I can be good on my own (though, your ideas are quite fun, too!)  
  
To Panzergal: Are you kidding? No matter how much I want to, I would never kill Jekyll. At least not in this story, anyway, because this story's for you. And you just showed me how upset you would be if I actually did. I'm glad you like it!!  
  
Now, on with the story!  
  
*  
  
Jekyll hurried down the corridor. He was looking for somebody, anybody. Anybody who had been there when Mina was laid into her coffin.  
  
Jekyll ran past his own room and came to Batsie Linoge's. Batsie had definitely seen Mina in her coffin. Jekyll approached, took a deep breath, and gently opened the door. However, after a quick look around the room, Batsie was nowhere to be found.  
  
Cursing under his breath, Jekyll came to the next room, Andre McCane's.  
  
"McCane," gasped Jekyll, practically falling through the door into McCane's room. "You saw Mina dead in her coffin, right?"  
  
McCane looked up from something he was studying at his desk and stared at Jekyll, puzzled. "Mina? Dead in a coffin?" he asked, confused. "Doctor Jekyll, it's true that SOME vampires sleep in coffins, but Mina is not one of those. She sleeps in a bed, like most other people," he explained patiently.  
  
"I KNOW that, but you have to remember this afternoon, when the crewmen finished Mina's coffin. You saw Nemo and Sawyer lift her dead body into it, right?"  
  
McCane was still very confused. "Henry, what in the world are you talking about? Mina isn't dead, is she? Last time I peeked into her room, she was still asleep from your sleeping potion."  
  
Jekyll gaped at him. Now it was his turn to be patient. "McCane, two days ago, Mina died of influenza. Nemo's crewmen built her a coffin, and now she is lying dead in it. Or, she was, before she started walking around in the kitchen."  
  
McCane got up and walked over to Jekyll. "Henry," he said, "Mina HAS influenza, but she did not die from it, nor WILL she die from it. You said so yourself. Mina's been asleep for the past two days. I know that, because I've been checking on her periodically."  
  
Jekyll grabbed his head in rage. "NO, you don't UNDERSTAND! Mina's DEAD!"  
  
McCane just shook his head. Pretty soon, Nemo was at McCane's door.  
  
"What's going on in here?" he snapped. "It's eleven at night. I have crewmen who are trying to sleep, not to mention Mina!" Then he saw whom he was talking to. "Oh, are you two fighting about something related to medicine? If it's about the skin, save your breath, Jekyll. McCane's probably right." Andre McCane had done extensive research concerning skin diseases and treatments, and was considered one of the best authorities on skin disease in Europe. And he wasn't even a doctor.  
  
"No, we're not arguing about medicine," McCane explained patiently. "Henry here seems to think that Mina died two days ago and was buried in a coffin."  
  
Nemo's eyes practically popped out of his head. "That's impossible!" he raged. "I saw her in the hallway not more than ten minutes ago!" He went over to Jekyll and felt his forehead. "Jekyll, your temperature seems fine, but I think you're coming down with something."  
  
"No, Captain, what YOU'RE saying in impossible," Jekyll cried. "This afternoon, we all witnessed you and Sawyer place Mina in a coffin made out of white chrome. See, I even have the pulled muscle I got from trying to lift the coffin to prove it!" Jekyll held out his arm.  
  
But his arm didn't hurt anymore. It was impossible that such a big muscle would heal so quickly, but Jekyll's arm felt fine. Jekyll swayed his arm around in its socket. It didn't make any sense!!! Just this afternoon, his arm was aching in excruciating pain!!  
  
"Your arm seems fine to me, Jekyll," remarked Nemo. "I, personally, believe that you might be catching Mina's illness. McCane?"  
  
McCane turned to Jekyll, than back to Nemo. "I agree, Captain. That's delirious raving if I've ever heard it," he said sadly.  
  
"Come, Jekyll," said Nemo softly. "Here, let me help you get into bed."  
  
Jekyll refused to comply with Nemo. He knew he wasn't crazy. Fortunately for Jekyll, Skinner had heard all the bickering and had entered the room to see what was going on.  
  
At first, all three men looked at him. Skinner was invisible, of course, but he was wearing a very visible pastel pink gown with fine crystal beading and numerous petticoats. And he was acting as if this was perfectly normal.  
  
Jekyll and Nemo gaped at him, at a loss for words. McCane, however, was staring at Skinner in horror.  
  
"Batsie's wedding dress?" he gasped. "First of all, Skinner, WHY are you wearing that? Second of all, do you KNOW that Batsie's wedding dress? Do you know what she'll do to you if she finds you in it?"  
  
"I'm just curious, McCane, but for which wedding?" said Nemo, turning from Skinner to McCane. "Yours, or Mr. Linoge's?"  
  
But before McCane could answer, Skinner chimed in. "The kind Mrs. Linoge found out that I'm the same size as a friend of hers who is getting married in a few months, and she asked me to model this. It's a COPY of her wedding dress. Now, normally, I wouldn't model a ladies' gown if I was given a trillion pounds. But, because Mrs. Linoge is such a kind and gorgeous woman--"  
  
"Molly," McCane muttered bitterly, interrupting Skinner's explanation. "Molly Hatcher."  
  
"Molly Hatcher. Yes, that's what she said the bride's name was," Skinner recalled. Then he came to his senses and remember why he was in McCane's room in the first place. "But why were you all shouting? It rocks the whole ship. She almost pricked my behind with one of her sewing pins."  
  
McCane explained for the second time. "Henry seems to think that Mina is dead."  
  
"No, that's not right," Skinner said, shaking his head even though none of them could see it. "I just saw Mina a few moments ago. She was on her way to the kitchen to get some orange juice. Jekyll, quit playing those kinds of jokes. They aren't very funny."  
  
"It's not a joke!" Jekyll huffed. "Can't any of you remember? It was a just a few hours ago! We laid Mina in her coffin. Sawyer burst into tears and ran out of room."  
  
Nemo looked confused. "Jekyll, Sawyer's been up on deck all afternoon, practicing his shooting accuracy."  
  
"Where is he now?" asked Jekyll.  
  
"In bed! It's eleven at night!" Nemo snapped back at him. "Speaking of bed, I suggest you go too, Jekyll. Maybe you'll wake up tomorrow morning and realize the absurdity of your statements."  
  
Jekyll just shrugged helplessly. Obviously, none of them had any memories of a dead Mina being buried in a white chrome coffin, even though it had only taken place that afternoon. "Maybe it WAS all some odd daydream," he thought aloud. "Maybe I'm just going crazy!"  
  
The three men all nodded. Captain Nemo stepped forward and took Jekyll by the arm. "Come, Henry. You show no symptoms of physical sickness, but I believe you should be put to bed."  
  
Jekyll wedged himself free of Nemo's grip, left the room without saying goodnight to any of them, and stalked down the hall to his room.  
  
Jekyll slammed the door and stumbled on over to his bed, his sight blinded by his own tears. He fell facedown upon his bed and screamed into his pillow. "But I'm not crazy!" he yelled bitterly to the wall of his stateroom. "I'm NOT CRAZY, YOU HEAR ME?!?!?!?"  
  
*  
  
There is just so much suspense is here that I can hardly stand it! Even I sit on end as I await the next chapter of this story. But I already know what happens.  
  
As you all have probably noticed, I respond to all reviews now, so if you would like a response to a review, just drop me one. The response will be posted at the beginning of the next chapter.  
  
~ Alisonia 


	11. Touched By An Angel

I know that something was wrong with chapter ten for a while, but it was finally fixed, and I was finally able to get a couple of reviews. Here are the responses:  
  
To Mina: Is Jekyll crazy? Is everybody else crazy? Well, you're going to have to tune in to find out!  
  
To Starlight16: Thanks for the compliment about the suspense. I know, poor Jekyll. I'm hugging him, too. I just hope he doesn't suffocate from too many hugs!  
  
To 20xd6 (for chapter 7): If you stick the Dante beast on me, I'll drink a whole glass of serum just like he did and make my own beast. The Nowicki beast.  
  
To 20xd6 (for chapter 10): Yep. I'm the author. Ha.  
  
And here's chapter eleven! WARNING: this chapter has a lot of religious references. So, if you are so-so about the topic of religion, you might want to skip this chapter. You've been warned.  
  
*  
  
"I know you're not crazy, Henry," said a soft voice behind him.  
  
Jekyll lifted his teary-eyed head off of his pillow and turned around. Batsie Linoge was standing there, glimmering in a slim, white diamond dress. Once again, her lovely brown curls encircled her head in a halo.  
  
"I don't want to talk about it," Jekyll sobbed. "I just don't want to talk about this any more. Leave me alone!!!"  
  
Batsie looked at the floor in a soft frown, then looked back up. "Would you like to talk about it if I told you that you aren't crazy at all, because I DID see Mina dead in her coffin this afternoon?"  
  
Jekyll froze. He felt like running over to her and kissing her. "But, how?" he whined, confused. "How could you and I have seen her dead, but everyone else not have?"  
  
"They did see her dead, Henry," said Batsie softly. "Mina really did die. They really did build a white chrome coffin. They really did try to lift that heavy coffin. Nemo and Sawyer really did place Mina into it. They just can't remember."  
  
"How come?" asked Jekyll, confused.  
  
At that moment, a beam of great white light shone down from the heavens onto Batsie herself. She began to speak very gently. "Because I resurrected Mina from the dead, Henry, and then I hypnotized everybody else on this ship into thinking that she never died. Everybody, that is, except you."  
  
"But why me?" asked Jekyll, hugging his pillow to his chest. He was beginning to get very scared.  
  
"Because you're the one I needed to prove a point to, Henry." A real halo appeared above Batsie's head, and large, great gossamer wings grew out of her back. She walked over to Jekyll and looked directly into his eyes. "Henry Jekyll," she said, speaking from a heavenly voice, "My name is Batsie Elizabeth Gerrard. I am an angel sent from God, and I came here to tell you that everything is going to be all right. God loves you, Henry. No matter how upset you may get, no matter how much things don't go your way, no matter how much you feel like killing yourself, you must remember that God is always with you, and God is always helping you."  
  
At first, Henry stared at her, in a state of disbelief. Angels weren't real.  
  
But as the moments passed, Henry looked at her and examined her. She wore white every day. She was always praying. She said she knew Mina's dead husband. She could hypnotize people with her beauty. She had a real halo and real wings that had appeared out of thin air. And that light! That great, bright light, shining down from the Heavens!!!!!  
  
"Oh, my God," Henry gasped slowly. "You're telling the truth. You really are an angel!"  
  
Batsie smiled a great smile, a smile that lit up her whole face, and nodded. "Yes," she smiled. "Yes, Henry, I am."  
  
* * *  
  
"Would you like more tea?"  
  
"Yes, please, if you don't mind."  
  
"Not at all." Batsie pointed her right pointer finger at Henry's teacup. Immediately, the amount of tea in it rose from the bottom all the way up to the top.  
  
"Wow," Henry thought to himself, clearly impressed with her powers.  
  
"Wow is right," Batsie smiled at him. Henry looked up at her, alarmed. "Don't be scared," she said to him gently. "I can read minds, Henry."  
  
Henry nodded. "May I ask you a question?"  
  
"Sure, anything."  
  
"Why me? How did you know that I was spiritually in trouble?"  
  
"I get my assignments from the Lord, Henry. The Lord watches everybody, and he knew that you needed help, and I got assigned to you. I told Andre of my assignment, and he helped me get on board the Nautilus. And then Mina died, and that made my job easier. All I needed to do to prove to you my power was to resurrect Mina. Simple. Resurrection is something no normal human being can do."  
  
Jekyll nodded. His mind was spinning, but it was not a confused and overwhelming kind of spinning. It was a curious kind of spinning. He knew Batsie was real, and it did not overwhelm him to know so. Instead, he was curious about her kind; curious about the angels. "So, Andre knows, then? Knows that you're an angel?"  
  
"Of course! How could we have been married for thirteen years, and he not have known? I had to tell him when we married. It would have been unfaithful if I would have hidden it from him."  
  
"Pardon my being rude," Jekyll quivered, "but, why did you and McCane divorce?"  
  
Batsie took a thoughtful sip of tea. "That, Henry, is not a question for me. That is a question for him. You will have to ask him yourself." Jekyll nodded.  
  
Batsie put her teacup down. "Henry, tell me the truth. What would you have done if Mina had stayed dead, and we had indeed buried her? Would you have indeed killed yourself?"  
  
"Yes," Jekyll answered truthfully. "I was seconds away from swallowing mercury when Sawyer burst into my room and told me to help with Mina's coffin."  
  
"Why?"  
  
Jekyll swallowed, a lump of tears forming in his throat. "Because, I knew I had technically killed her. I had no knowledge of the illness she had, and if I had known some more about it, I could have saved her. I just couldn't bear to have that guilt on my conscience."  
  
"But it wasn't your fault, Henry. You didn't know about Mina's illness. There are very few people in this world who ARE acquainted with vampire biology."  
  
"But when Hyde is not occupying my body, I am in charge of the health of everybody on this ship. That's what a doctor is for."  
  
"Yes, but doctors lose patients because of circumstances beyond their control every day. You've lost plenty of patients before this, Henry. Why were you going to turn out the light on your life after losing Mina Harker in particular?"  
  
Jekyll thought. At first, he had no idea, but then it hit him. Why Mina Harker in particular? "Because I love her," he realized. "I love Mina, and she loves me. She said so herself. I love her, and I couldn't bear to see anything bad happen to her under my hand."  
  
"Exactly," Batsie told him. "You love Mina. And she loves you."  
  
Jekyll nodded. "By the way, you said you knew her husband, Jonathan Harker. What's he like?"  
  
"Oh, Jonathan?" Batsie laughed. "He's a wonderful and kind gentleman, but he's also very upset."  
  
"Awww," Jekyll moaned. "Why's that?"  
  
"Because he wants Mina to be happy. And Mina isn't very happy right now."  
  
"Well, of course not. She can't be very happy when she's sick."  
  
Batsie reached across the table and grasped Jekyll's hand gently. "Henry," she told him, looking right into his eyes. "Mina is unhappy for a different reason. She told you that she loved you. And if you really love her, you didn't tell her that you loved her back."  
  
Jekyll thought, and then he nodded. "You're right. You're right, I didn't tell her that I loved her, did I?"  
  
*  
  
Batsie is exposed, but the story isn't over yet! What will become of Jekyll and Mina? Will it be LOVE?  
  
~ Alisonia 


	12. Jekyll and Mina

Okay, I'm back with the next chapter. But, before we start, here are some review replies:  
  
To Starlight16: I would leave a message for Starlight16, but she's still too busy with her victory dance. So Jet, when she stops celebrating, please congratulate her for me. She's figured out the puzzle. SHE KNEW IT SHE KNEW IT SHE KNEW IT SHE KNEW IT!!!!!!  
  
To 20xd6: I am also a huge supporter of Jekyll/Mina. Read this chapter, and you'll see what I mean.  
  
To Night Music: You're absolutely right. Jekyll needs it after everything he's been through (as does Mina.) If you want Jekyll/Mina lovin', you've got it. Here it is.  
  
To Mina: I would never make Jekyll crazy. After everything he's been through in this story, the poor guy deserves a break, don't you think?  
  
To Clez: You knew it too. Congratulations. Don't worry, I hope to include Sawyer in the next few chapters. *patting Clez's Jekyll plushie on the head* Okay, little guy. You can relax now. Everything's going to be okay!  
  
Okay, on with the show!  
  
*  
  
Mina set her empty glass of orange juice back on her nightstand. She never knew that having a head cold could make her so thirsty for orange juice. Dr. Jekyll, had he been in his right mind, would have been proud of her for drinking lots of fluids while ill.  
  
Sadly, though, there was something wrong with Jekyll, and Mina didn't know what it was. Hopefully, it wasn't her flu. She didn't want Jekyll to suffer through the same misery.  
  
It was one in the morning, and Mina was usually never up. However, her head cold was so bad that she couldn't fall asleep. Her nose was too stuffed, she kept coughing and sneezing, and she kept jumping back and forth between fever and chills. But she was going to get some sleep tonight, no matter how much it took.  
  
Mina turned on the humidifier that Nemo had lent her and was about to turn out the bedside lamp and go to bed when she heard a knock at the door. "Cobe id," she said through a stuffy nose.  
  
Dr. Jekyll slowly opened the door. "Mina?" he asked quietly. "Are you holding up okay?"  
  
Mina blew her nose to clear it, and nodded. "Everybody's given me everything I need," she said. "How about you, Doctor? Are you feeling okay?"  
  
Jekyll smiled and nodded. "I went to sleep, and when I woke up, I realized just how ridiculous I had sounded earlier," he said, telling a little white lie. Jekyll decided to stick to Mina's story of the sleeping potion than explain to Mina that an angel had resurrected her from the dead and made her think she had been asleep. Jekyll didn't want Mina to be overwhelmed when she was sick. "I was just tired and needed a rest."  
  
Mina just nodded. "Okay," she mumbled.  
  
Dr. Jekyll looked around the room. He had just noticed something. "Say, how come you aren't asleep? It's one in the morning. Even Nemo's gone to sleep by now." The captain didn't go to bed until he had given all of the night crewmen their assignments, and he woke bright and early every morning to check on those assignments. Nemo hated sleeping, but he knew his body required it. Still, why sleep when there was too much else you could be doing?  
  
Mina sniffled. "It's hard to sleep when you have a head cold."  
  
"I agree," Jekyll smiled, and pulled the blankets up her chin. "I've had way too many ill patients who complain about lack of nasal breathing at night." Then he paused. "Mina?"  
  
"Yes?" Mina asked, sniffling.  
  
"Right before you-I mean, right before I gave you the sleeping potion, you told me something. Do you remember what you said to me?"  
  
Mina tried to think. What had she said to him? "Well, I told you that I thought I was dying. And I told you I heard Jonathan calling me upward to Heaven."  
  
"Besides that, Mina," said Jekyll very gently. "You told me something from deep inside your heart. It was something that you had wanted to say to me for a long, long time."  
  
Mina paused. Then, she remembered. "Oh, I have it," she exclaimed softly. She looked into Jekyll's eyes. "I told you I loved you."  
  
Jekyll nodded and pushed aside a strand of her long, reddish-brown hair. Mina's usually piercing green eyes had softened up, and Jekyll had a feeling it was not just because Mina was sick. "And did you mean that, Mina?" he asked her softly.  
  
"Well, I had a high fever," Mina whispered almost inaudibly, her voice weak from both illness and emotion. "So I admit that it might have sounded delirious, but yes, I really meant it," she finished, looking up at him.  
  
Jekyll smiled, but no smile was enough to show all of the joy he had in his heart. "Oh, Mina," he said to her, quietly but excitedly, "I love you too!"  
  
Mina and Jekyll embraced, and Jekyll kissed her on the forehead.  
  
"Once you're all better, I promise I'll give you a real kiss," he whispered in her ear. "I didn't want to take a chance and pick up your illness. And you aren't breathing on me, are you?"  
  
"No, Doctor," Mina giggled softly. "I'm not."  
  
Jekyll and Mina pulled apart, and Jekyll put a hand to her forehead. "Your forehead is still quite warm," he remarked. "Here, stay still. I'm going to take your temperature."  
  
Mina shook her head. "No, I'm fine," she promised him. "My fever's not nearly as hot as it was two days ago!"  
  
"No, Mina, your health comes first," he assured her, squeezing her hand.  
  
"Now, I no longer have a working thermometer, it's a long story, so I'm going to have to sneak into Nemo's room. I'm sure he has one."  
  
Mina lay back on her pillow and smiled. "If it's a story, than entertain me. I'm miserable."  
  
"Very well." Jekyll wiped his brow with his handkerchief. "I had to break the thermometer and drain it of its mercury for an experiment that I have been working on."  
  
"Oh?"  
  
"Yes, a very controversial experiment that I have since abandoned. And now, if you'll excuse me," he smiled at her, "I must go and fetch another thermometer."  
  
Mina lay down in bed and sighed, but this time, it wasn't an exasperated sigh. It was a happy sigh. She had her personal doctor back. And this time, he was hers for good.  
  
* * *  
  
With Jekyll back by her side, Mina let go of caring for herself and let Jekyll care for her again. Jekyll refilled her humidifier, supplied her with endless amounts of tissues, and made sure she was given cough syrup at exactly the right times. He gave her glass after glass of orange juice and hot cups of tea.  
  
As he went into Mina's bathroom to get her a cold compress for her forehead, he happened to glance into the mirror above the sink.  
  
Instead of seeing his own reflection (or Hyde's, for that matter,) it was Batsie's reflection that was looking back at him. And she smiled.  
  
"Henry," Batsie spoke to him through the mirror. "You've done good work, and I am very proud of you. As is Jonathan Harker."  
  
Jekyll smiled. "Thank you."  
  
Batsie just smiled back at him. Suddenly, her image dissolved from the mirror, and Jekyll found a strange man looking back at him. He was a handsome man, with reddish-brown hair similar to Mina's, and he seemed to be wearing a white lab coat. Jekyll knew he had seen this man somewhere before, but he couldn't remember where.  
  
Then he had it. He had seen a photograph of this man in Allan Quartermain's files of the League members. This was Jonathan Harker himself. Mina's husband.  
  
"No," Jonathan Harker smiled at Jekyll. "I wish to thank YOU, Henry Jekyll. Thank you for making my Mina happy and healthy."  
  
Jekyll was speechless. He was communicating with a real ghost. However, he didn't need to say anything else. Henry Jekyll and Jonathan Harker looked at each other through the mirror, and shared a smile. There was nothing else to be said.  
  
*  
  
And no, the story is still not over! I hope to have the next chapter up within a few days.  
  
~ Alisonia 


	13. The Next Morning

I can't believe I got so many reviews for the last chapter (and it really made my day!) I didn't know the Jekyll/Mina pairing was that popular! Well, regardless of it's popularity, I believe that Jekyll and Mina were meant for one another! (Here are the review responses, as usual):  
  
To Clez: *hugs Jekyll plushie* Of course he's happy! He's no longer lonely; he's found himself a girl! *Jekyll plushie kisses Mina plushie* Awwww!!!!!! Aren't they CUUUUUUTE!!!! (Now, when will they kiss in the story? That's the real question.)  
  
To Asia: You're probably right, but this is MY story! Not only is it my story, it's a complete fantasy. So I'm allowed to make things happen that can't really happen. For instance, how often have you seen Skinner wearing a pink wedding dress? : )  
  
To Lucien: Thank you! I try to make them as nicely done as possible.  
  
To Starlight16: Again, Starlight16 is too busy doing something else to pay attention to what I have to say (this time, she's chasing after Jet with a chainsaw. Poor Jet.) However, when she comes back, she and Dr. Jekyll will be happy to know that I'm going to continue to update until this story's done!  
  
To Mina: "Please don't hurt them more?" Oh, you can never count on that! *giggles menacingly* But, yes, they ARE happy-at the moment, that is.  
  
To Graymoon74 (for chapter 10): Nemo may be a freak in your story, but my story, I don't think he's going anywheres near pink lingerie. After this, my next story is going to be a comedy (I hope.) Maybe they can have a pink lingerie party then.  
  
To Graymoon74 (for chapter 11): Why, thank you. Being different is good. Otherwise, we'd all be the same. That's pretty boring : )  
  
To Graymoon74 (for chapter 12): Do they get to kiss? Hmm. I'm going to have to think about that one. Jekyll doesn't want to catch the vampire flu, so I think he's going to wait until Mina's better.  
  
To 20xd6: I know, it's my favorite pairing too!  
  
To Night Music: Expecting a Mina/Jekyll kiss too, are you? (See my response to Graymoon74's chapter 12 review.) Jonathan is such a nice man, and he loves Mina so much, he wants her to be as happy as possible. So he's going to let her kiss Jekyll. As soon as she's better, that is.  
  
Here's the next chapter, so enjoy!  
  
*  
  
When Mina awoke the next morning in bed, her nose was still stuffed, she was shivering underneath her many blankets, her chest was still congested, and phlegm still lined her throat. Even though she was happy that Jekyll had said he loved her, it was hard to concentrate on her happiness when she was feeling absolutely horrible.  
  
"Where's Dr. Jekyll?" she sniffed. She figured he must have gone to bed himself after Mina had finally fallen asleep last night.  
  
Several Nautilus crewmen were in her room, sweeping the floor, refilling her humidifier, and refilling her bedside table with tissues and medicine. First Mate Patel turned to face her and bowed to her. "The doctor is with the rest of the passengers. They are eating breakfast in the dining room, Miss Mina."  
  
Mina, still shivering with chills, pulled the blankets off of herself. "I must see Dr. Jekyll," she sniffed.  
  
"Mrs. Harker, both the captain and Dr. Jekyll have requested that you remain in bed for the day," said another crewman, who was dusting the shelves above Mina's desk. "You are not permitted to leave unless they say otherwise."  
  
"But I must see Dr. Jekyll!" Mina whined helplessly. "I need him, right now! Please let me go to him!"  
  
First Mate Patel nodded. "Very well, you stay in bed. I will inform the doctor that you have woken and are feeling ill."  
  
Mina nodded and pulled the blankets back over herself. She was feeling absolutely miserable, and she knew Jekyll was the only one who could make her feel better. Not just because he was a doctor, but because he loved her.  
  
* * *  
  
Henry Jekyll hadn't wanted to go to breakfast with the rest of the League; he had wanted to check on Mina. However, Nemo practically dragged him out of bed and to the breakfast table.  
  
Tom Sawyer hadn't wanted to go to breakfast, either. He had wanted to sleep in, and was still wearing his pajamas. "Why do we have to get up this early?" he yawned, scratching the back of his head. "It's only seven o' clock!"  
  
"Getting up early is healthier," Nemo replied, watching as his crewmen poured the League members cups of hot tea. Sawyer just continued to grumble.  
  
The dining room doors opened, and Batsie Linoge entered, wearing a beautiful white silk dressing gown. Jekyll noticed that her halo had disappeared, but her grand wings still sprouted out of her back.  
  
Seeing Batsie with wings, Sawyer was able to fully wake up. "So those are your wings? Impressive!"  
  
"Can you fly with those?" Skinner asked.  
  
"What else would they be for?" Batsie shrugged, smiling.  
  
"Wow," Sawyer and Skinner whispered together, in awe. Jekyll thought it, but he didn't say it.  
  
"Has McCane ever flown with you?" asked Sawyer.  
  
"Once," Andre McCane admitted. "Actually, twice. But one time I was unconscious, so it didn't count. Long story."  
  
"We have time," Skinner shrugged.  
  
While McCane told the story of how his then-wife had transported him all the way from Rome to London while he had been unconscious, Jekyll was getting confused. He thought he was the only one besides McCane who knew that Batsie was an angel.  
  
Luckily, Batsie read his mind and sat down beside him at the table. "There is no need to keep secrets any longer, Henry," she whispered to him softly. "I've hypnotized them so that they all know now. They know the whole story."  
  
"So they know who you are?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Do they know about Mina's death, too?"  
  
"Yes. They know about Mina's death, they will remember the burial in the coffin, and they know that I resurrected her."  
  
"Does Mina know?"  
  
Batsie paused. "Well, Mina knows who I am, but she still has no memory of her death. I didn't want to scare her. If you ask her, though, she's still going to think that she was under the influence of a sleeping potion. Just do me a favor and don't bring up the subject around her."  
  
Jekyll nodded. "You can count on that. I think that after she's fully recovered, Mina will never mention anything about this illness of hers again. It's been simply unbearable for her." He paused. "Now, can you tell me how you and McCane were able to marry?"  
  
Batsie smiled, and once again, her smile lit up her whole face. "Andre," she called across the table to her ex-husband. "Henry wants to know how and why we married."  
  
McCane had finished his story and was watching Sawyer and Skinner argue over whether Rome or Venice was the more interesting Italian city. "Sure," he said, smiling faintly.  
  
But before he could start, First Mate Patel entered the dining room. "Dr. Jekyll," he said to Henry. "Mrs. Harker is feeling ill, and requests your presence in her bedroom."  
  
"Oh, poor Mina," Jekyll moaned softly. He got up from the table, even though breakfast hadn't even been served yet. "Please excuse me, I must go tend to Mina."  
  
"No problem," McCane shrugged. "I'll start the story when you get back."  
  
When Jekyll left the dining room, Skinner and Sawyer were objecting to McCane, and Batsie and Nemo were shaking their heads in disgust and amusement.  
  
* * *  
  
"Good morning, Mina," smiled Jekyll, in an attempt to cheer her up. "How are you feeling this morning?"  
  
Mina was still shivering violently under the covers of her bed. "N-- not that w--well," she admitted, her teeth chattering softly.  
  
"Poor dear, it seems as if your chills are getting worse," Jekyll soothed her. He took Nemo's thermometer from Mina's bedside table, still left there from last night. "You need something warm to drink, Mina. I'll have one of Nemo's men fetch you a cup of hot tea. How about some breakfast?"  
  
Mina shook her head. "I'm not hungry," she moaned.  
  
"I know you don't have much of an appetite, but you must eat. How about some fruit and some warm oatmeal? Don't worry, you don't have to go all the way to the dining room. You can eat right here in bed. It'll be very healthy for you."  
  
Mina just nodded sadly, but perked up a little when Jekyll kissed her cheek. Clearly, he hadn't forgotten he loved her.  
  
"Now, open up," he instructed her gently. "Before I take your temperature, I want to see how bad that throat of yours looks."  
  
Mina nodded and obliged.  
  
*  
  
I don't know when I'm going to get the next chapter up, but hopefully within a few days.  
  
~ Alisonia 


	14. Batsie's Story

Greetings, avid readers! Before we get started, here are a few shout- outs to my loyal reviewers:  
  
To Night Music: Mina is a tough girl, but she can't get better overnight! And don't worry, she and Jekyll will definitely get to have their kiss. In fact, I think I might take up a whole chapter describing it, because everyone wants to see it so badly!  
  
To Mina: I'm sorry to cut things off when they get interesting, but great cliffhangers are a way to keep people interested in the story. If everything was solved by the end of a chapter, why bother to read the next one?  
  
To Clez: *taking out plushie-sized pajamas for Tom plushie* Here, Tom, put these on! *smiling* They'll make Clez happy!  
  
To Starlight16: Once again, Starlight16 is way too busy to pay attention to what I have to say. Dr. Jekyll tells me she's with her boyfriend somewhere. Dr. Jekyll, tell her I appreciate her compliments very much. By the way, Doctor, you don't have to blush anymore. You have a girlfriend, too!  
  
Anyways, here's the next chapter. When we left off, I think Mina and Jekyll were still in Mina's bedroom.  
  
*  
  
Dr. Jekyll applied some soothing lotion to the swollen glands on Mina's neck, being careful not to irritate the two bruises she had gotten when Dracula had bit into her years ago. "Does that feel better, Mina?  
  
"Yes, a little," Mina said quietly. She sniffled. "I'm so tired of being sick. I'm so tired of being cooped up in bed all day!"  
  
"But Mina, dear, you can't get better overnight," Jekyll soothed her softly.  
  
Mina nodded. "I know, but I'm just so tired of it," she moaned. "May I please get out of bed for just a little while? Maybe being around others will make me feel better."  
  
"No, Mina. You're in no condition to be around others."  
  
Mina began to weep. Jekyll hugged her. "On the other hand," Jekyll considered, "I'm so grateful that being ill hasn't destroyed your passionate spirit. You're still a fighter inside. I guess than that maybe you have enough energy to join us at the breakfast table for a cup of tea," he thought aloud.  
  
Mina wiped her eyes with a handkerchief from her bedside table and nodded. "Oh, please! Just for a few moments!"  
  
Jekyll finally nodded. "All right, then. Just for a few minutes, you may get out of bed for a cup of tea. Come, Mina, dear. We need to dress you appropriately."  
  
Jekyll helped Mina into the thick burgundy bathrobe that Batsie had lent her, and slipped Mina's feet into her own white mink slippers. Mina carefully brushed her hair to look presentable, and put several handkerchiefs into the pocket of her bathrobe, just in case her nose got stuffy.  
  
"I'll hold onto this bottle of cough syrup, just in case you need it," Jekyll told her gently, kissing her cheek.  
  
Mina nodded. "Would you say I looked presentable enough to sit down to breakfast?"  
  
"Mina, you're ill! You have an excuse!"  
  
"But, even if I wasn't. Would I still look okay?"  
  
Jekyll shook his head and laughed. "Mina, Sawyer just got out of bed ten minutes ago. He's still in his pajamas. Of course, you look okay!"  
  
Mina just sniffled and hung onto Jekyll's arm to steady herself as she walked, dizzy from hunger. She hadn't had much of an appetite lately. Jekyll carefully held onto Mina and led her to the dining room, where everyone was still gathered around the table, looking very impatient.  
  
Skinner was reading the newspaper. Sawyer had his head down on the table, and appeared to be sleeping. Batsie and Nemo appeared to be deeply in discussion about something, and McCane was arguing with First Mate Patel about the right way to perform a certain fencing move. No food was set out at the table, except for cups of tea, which had already been finished.  
  
"What's going on? Why isn't anybody eating breakfast?" Jekyll asked, confused.  
  
"There was a small accident in the kitchen, so breakfast has been delayed for an hour," Nemo explained. "We all just decided to sit here and wait." He noticed Mina. "Mina! How do you feel?"  
  
"Well enough to have a cup of tea at the table," Mina smiled quietly.  
  
"Excellent!" announced Skinner, looking over the paper at her. "Come, sit next to me!"  
  
"Thank you, but I'd rather sit by Henry."  
  
"Henry? We're on a first name basis with him, are we?" asked Skinner, hurt and jealous.  
  
"Mr. Skinner, Mina is still unwell, and needs to be under the care of a physician," Batsie said quietly. "Don't make this more difficult that it already is."  
  
Skinner just grumbled. Jekyll mouthed a thank-you to Batsie, who smiled at him. Jekyll helped Mina into a chair next to his own, and then sat down himself. Everybody sat in silence for a few moments. Skinner continued to read the paper.  
  
"Skinner, don't read the newspaper at the table," Sawyer grumbled, his head still down. "It's indecent."  
  
"Says who?"  
  
"My Aunt Polly."  
  
"Enough," Nemo grumbled, from the head of the table. "We don't need you two arguing." There was silence again.  
  
Batsie cleared her throat. All turned to look at her. "Henry," she addressed Dr. Jekyll. "Would you still like to know how an angel was able to marry a common man?"  
  
Jekyll raised his eyebrows. "Yes, actually."  
  
"I would also like to know," added Mina. Everybody agreed.  
  
"Well, it's actually very simple," explained McCane. "Like any other relationship, we met, we dated, and we married. Later, we fell out of love with each other, and we divorced."  
  
"But I had to go through something first," Batsie explained. "You see, there are different types of angels. Some angels spend all of their time in Heaven. Some spend all of their time on Earth. Some divide their time between Heaven and Earth. Up until I met Andre, I was one of that last group. I divided my time between Heaven and Earth."  
  
"When Batsie and I met in London in 1874, and I just fell in love with her personality," McCane explained. "She was so kind and generous, always helping the less fortunate."  
  
"And nobody had seen beyond that before," Batsie admitted. "Andre McCane was the first man I had ever known that had looked beyond my exterior into my heart. By doing that, I definitely knew that this was the man I loved. I knew we were meant to be together, but we couldn't be together. Only angels who work on consistently Earth had the chance to enjoy the pleasures of human beings. To enjoy marriage with a mortal man, I had to change my nature. I became an Earth angel, never again to return to Heaven."  
  
"So, you gave up Paradise to marry a man whom you knew you would outlive?" asked Skinner, his jaw open.  
  
"She sure did," smiled McCane.  
  
"But it was foolish, because the marriage never worked out," pouted Sawyer. "So, you shouldn't have given up Heaven at all!"  
  
"I know," McCane sighed. "You see, we divorced because I fell out of love with Batsie and in love with something else. My work. I became a workaholic, and I was never there for her anymore."  
  
"And like most other married couples, we couldn't live with that," Batsie added. "We had no choice but to divorce. And I had given my solemn word that I would never go back to Heaven, so I was stuck on Earth forever."  
  
"What a shame," said Nemo sadly.  
  
"Not quite," Batsie smiled. "I was able to find myself a new husband."  
  
"Simon Linoge," grumbled McCane.  
  
"But I believe that it worked out for the best," Batsie smiled. "You see, Simon Linoge is an angel too."  
  
"But not the same kind as Batsie," McCane explained in a low voice. "Batsie works for the Lord, for Heaven. Simon Linoge works for somebody else."  
  
There was a strong silence in the room. Finally, Sawyer spoke up. "You married an angel of SATAN?" he shouted.  
  
*  
  
I know this chapter was kind of boring, but I felt it was essential to the story. However, the story isn't over yet. Remember, Jekyll and Mina still need their KISS!!!! And will Mina ever get better, or not?  
  
~ Alisonia 


	15. Married to Satan?

Greetings! I'm such in a good mood today, and I haven't been in a good mood in a long, long time!  
  
To Clez: Don't worry, I'll cut Mina some slack soon. Remember, she and Jekyll still have to have their KISS!  
  
To Mina: They will kiss, but not now. Sorry! I know everybody's so anxious for the kiss, but it WILL happen sometime in the story! I promise!  
  
To A Fan: In Stephen King's "Storm of the Century" (one of my favorite books in the world,) Andre Linoge was Satan in human form, who came to a small island off the coast of Maine to find himself a protégé. That's where you've heard Linoge before. Linoge is such a cool name, I've decided to use it in my story!  
  
To Starlight16: Is Starlight16 ever around to hear what I have to say? Anyway, she's off fighting evil forces, so I'd like to thank her for her nice comments, and if Jet is really her boyfriend, he will continue to help her fight evil forces.  
  
I'm sorry you all had to sit through suspense! Now, for an explanation!  
  
*  
  
This time, it was Henry Jekyll instead of Mina Harker who felt deathly ill. He gripped the armrests of his chair with pale hands to keep himself from leaning over the side of his chair and vomiting.  
  
It was one of those times when you were not quite sure that what had been said had really been said. Nemo reached inside his ear with a finger, as if to clean it out. Sawyer's jaw was practically scraping the floor, and his eyes were wide. Skinner had lowered his newspaper in amazement, and the look on his face was identical to the look on Tom's.  
  
Mina swallowed so loudly that the whole room could hear it. "Excuse me," she said quietly, attempting to get herself out of her chair. Her face had turned a sickly shade of green, and she was holding her stomach. "I need to go and vomit."  
  
Batsie simply shook her head and pointed a finger at Mina. Immediately, Mina's eyes turned to blank, glass balls. She very gracefully sat back down in her chair.  
  
"Nobody's going anywhere," McCane said coldly. "Not until they've heard the rest of the story."  
  
"I don't want to hear the rest of this story," Jekyll's voice shook. "I'm with Mina. I want to go and vomit."  
  
"Trust me, Henry," Batsie said softly. "You want to hear this."  
  
McCane cleared his throat and turned to his ex-wife. "Anyway," he said. "You married Linoge. Continue."  
  
Batsie's face had turned pale, probably out of grief, but she continued her story. "Yes, Simon Linoge was an angel of Satan, as Tom bluntly put it. Rather, he HAD been. When I met him about a year after I divorced Andre, he had just received his Heavenly wings. He had switched over to the good side, and he asked me for my guidance in his work. He wanted to be a better angel to the Lord."  
  
Skinner, Sawyer, Nemo, Jekyll, and Mina breathed out five collective sighs of relief. Jekyll especially felt much better. He knew Batsie was a good woman with a good heart.  
  
Mina stood up a second time. "Excuse me again, but I think I still need to vomit. The shock has been too much for my sickened body," she said weakly.  
  
Batsie just smiled and pointed her finger again. Immediately, Mina let out a gasp of happiness. Immediately, she started laughing. The laughing was quiet and giggly, but Mina was actually laughing. Her hands still held her stomach, but she was actually smiling.  
  
"What was that?" asked Jekyll, his eyes wide. "What did you do to her?"  
  
Batsie didn't reply. Mina, however, kept on laughing. "Stop that!" she almost choked in laughter. "Stop! That tickles!!!"  
  
Jekyll looked at Mina for a moment, and then looked back at Batsie. "Wait a moment," he said slowly and quietly, so Mina couldn't overhear. "You can resurrect her from the dead. You can make her laugh when she's ill. Can you make Mina's illness go away completely? Can you make her all better?"  
  
"Of course I can."  
  
"Then why don't you?" Tom pouted. "I've been extremely upset for these past few days!! There were times when I felt like killing myself, Mina's been in so much pain!!" Jekyll simply glared at him silently.  
  
"Because resurrecting her from the dead has taken most of my strength," Batsie explained tiredly. "I did Mina a big favor. She can do me one by getting better on her own. At this moment, I want nothing more than to go home and get some rest."  
  
Nemo smiled. "Not to worry, Mrs. Linoge. When I checked the navigational charts this morning, I came to the conclusion that we would be arriving in London by the morning's end. You will be able to sleep in your own bed tonight."  
  
Batsie breathed a sigh of relief. At that moment, however, a crewman walked in with a message on a piece of paper. He handed the piece of paper to Nemo, who skimmed it.  
  
"Strike that," Nemo smiled. "We are in London right now. We will be dropping anchor within the hour."  
  
Sawyer sighed happily. "We must get Mina to a doctor. One with experience in vampirical diseases. No offense, Jekyll."  
  
"No, Sawyer, I agree," Jekyll nodded to him. "My experience is beyond what Mina has. I can continue to treat her symptoms, but something unexpected may happen again. Mina, dear, we must get you to a specialist."  
  
Mina nodded. She had stopped laughing and was sitting at the table again. "Will I die?" she asked, tears coming to her eyes.  
  
"No, no, of course not, honey," Batsie said comfortingly. "You won't die."  
  
"Can you see the future too?" asked Sawyer, wide-eyed.  
  
"Not as good as some others of my kind can," Batsie smiled. "But I know for a fact that Mina will not die of the vampire flu within the next few days. That is all." She turned to Nemo. "I have telegraphed my husband. He will be meeting me at the port."  
  
"I thought Mr. Linoge was waiting for you in New Zealand," said a confused Skinner.  
  
Batsie laughed. "Mr. Skinner, I never had to go to New Zealand. That was just an excuse to get on board the Nautilus."  
  
"By the way, which port will we be docking at?" asked McCane curiously.  
  
Nemo looked at the note again and let out a small groan. "The East London Docks."  
  
Skinner, Sawyer, and Jekyll all let out one big groan. "Mina, dear," said Jekyll kindly. "If you must go and vomit now, please be my guest." Mina nodded, but didn't rise.  
  
"What's so bad about the East London Docks?" asked McCane, confused.  
  
"That's where Dorian Gray once lived," Batsie explained to her ex- husband.  
  
Skinner winced. "Can you please stop reading my mind, Miss? That really freaks me out," he whined.  
  
"At least we found something that does," Mina commented, sipping her tea. The rest of the League laughed.  
  
"Mina's teasing Rodney. Now I know she feels better," McCane smiled.  
  
At that moment, the crewmen brought out breakfast. The passengers of the Nautilus feasted on delicious ham, sausage, eggs and fruit. Mina picked at a few strawberries on her plate, but otherwise didn't eat anything. She didn't have her appetite quite back yet.  
  
"After breakfast, we help Andre and Batsie pack their things," Nemo announced as they ate. "After they are packed, we will help them safely to the shores of London, and we will get Mina to a specialist."  
  
"Don't worry, Mina. You'll feel better soon," Jekyll told her quietly.  
  
"I already do feel a little better. I have you," Mina smiled at him. She reached under the table and squeezed his hand.  
  
"I love you too, Mina."  
  
*  
  
What surprises will await the League and their guests at the East London Docks? Stay tuned to the next chapter to find out! The story isn't over yet!  
  
~ Alisonia 


	16. Jekyll Becomes Brave

Okay, so I'm really tired but I feel like posting this chapter up now anyway. I've been racking my brain trying to think of ideas for my next fanfic (after I get done with this one.) I want it to be funny, but I have no really good ideas. Anyway, here are the review replies:  
  
To Clez: I know, my brain isn't really working lately either. I keep adding more and more chapters. Originally I thought this thing was only going to be about twelve chapters long, but now I'm guessing about eighteen. Ah, yes, surprises WILL await them!  
  
To Graymoon74: What type of PJs would Tom wear? Oh, I'm thinking nice blue ones with little shotguns or slingshots dancing around the fabric. Or, maybe he'd wear nice striped ones. I can imagine him in those.  
  
To A Fan: *grinning evilly* "Born in sin, come on in!" *waving evil cane around in the air* "Give me what I want, and I'll go away!" Finally, someone who knows "Storm of the Century" as much as I!! Thanks for reviewing my story!!  
  
Here's the next chapter, and I'll admit that it's a bit slow. I don't know why I wrote it, but it just sounded right to do. Happy reading!  
  
*  
  
Batsie Linoge was in her room packing her suitcase when Mina came in. Mina was wearing her own bathrobe, which was made of thin cream-colored silk, and holding the large, thick, burgundy one in her arms.  
  
"Here," she offered. "I think your husband would be angry if he didn't get his robe back."  
  
Batsie laughed. "You know, Mina, I really don't think he would. Like I said before, he never wears it. So, how about you keep it for a while? At least until you get better. The one you have on now is much too thin to be wearing when you're ill."  
  
"True," Mina nodded. She sniffled and put the burgundy robe back on. "Thanks, Batsie. I really owe you one."  
  
"No, you don't, Mina," said Batsie quietly. "My duty is to make you safe and happy. I've already done that. Your duty is to keep me safe from terrorists who try to start world wars. I don't think that's been done yet."  
  
Mina nodded and laughed. "That's also true." She paused. "Batsie, do you think I have a chance with Henry? Do you think he could really be my husband?"  
  
Batsie put down the blue bath towel she was packing into her suitcase and looked at Mina. On her face was a look of curiosity and secrecy. "Well, Mina," she began slowly, "would you like him to become your husband someday?"  
  
"I don't know," Mina answered truthfully. "We're going to have to get closer in our relationship for that."  
  
Batsie nodded. "There you go. I can't really tell you if you and Henry will be together, Mina. You're just going to have to get closer before you ask for anything else from me concerning your relationship with Henry Jekyll. It's too far into the future to me to see into."  
  
Mina just nodded. "Thank you very much for everything," she said quietly, and left Batsie alone to continue packing.  
  
* * *  
  
McCane had been right. Simon Linoge was a more sinister Andre McCane.  
  
Simon Linoge stood patiently at the East London Docks, where the Nautilus had docked, waiting for his wife. He wore tough black boots, heavy gray slacks, and a large black peacoat. His hands were covered with black leather gloves, and in his right hand was a black cane with a growling silver wolf's head on top. It looked horrifying.  
  
Simon Linoge himself looked horrifying as well. He was very tall, well over six feet, with a wool cap covering his head. On his face was a menacing look of strength and intimidation.  
  
Inside the Nautilus, Tom Sawyer was looking out the porthole of his room. He gulped at the vision of Simon Linoge.  
  
"I'm not going out there," he swore to Henry Jekyll. "That man looks more evil than Dorian."  
  
"Nobody is more evil than Dorian," Jekyll told him.  
  
"That guy is. He used to be an angel of Satan, Jekyll. Satan beats out Dorian any day of the week."  
  
"True," Jekyll nodded. "Hyde?" he asked aloud. Since Jekyll was no longer depressed and suicidal, Hyde had returned to Jekyll's body earlier that morning.  
  
"What, worm?" Edward Hyde growled from inside him.  
  
"See that man out there?" asked Jekyll, pointing out the window to Simon Linoge. "The one carrying the cane?"  
  
"Yeah, I see him," Hyde answered.  
  
"Are you afraid of him?"  
  
"Jekyll, you little worm!!! I ain't afraid of ANYBODY!!!!"  
  
"Even a former angel of Satan?"  
  
"As long as it's a FORMER angel of Satan, than the answer's still no."  
  
"Good," Jekyll said aloud. "Because I'm going to take the potion, and you're going to escort Mina off the Nautilus and into London. We're taking her to a vampire specialist."  
  
"No!" Sawyer gasped.  
  
Jekyll turned to look at him, concerned. "Why not, Sawyer?"  
  
"Jekyll, I may be afraid of him, but you can't be. YOU are the whole reason Batsie Linoge came upon this ship on the first place. If she wants her husband, an ex-agent of Satan himself, to pick her up when we dock, then she must be conveying a message to you. You can't be afraid, Jekyll. You need to start facing your fears. It'll make you happier."  
  
Jekyll froze. He didn't want to admit it, but the American kid was absolutely right. He couldn't keep letting Hyde out when he was afraid. To be a happier man, he needed to start facing his fears. He was going to start with meeting Simon Linoge.  
  
"You're right, Sawyer," he said, giving Sawyer a pat on the back. "You're absolutely right. I can't be a coward the rest of my life. I need to start becoming brave, because it will make me a much better man."  
  
"FINALLY you understand," Hyde growled from inside him. Jekyll ignored him.  
  
"Way to go, Doctor," Sawyer smiled at him.  
  
* * *  
  
"Oh, goodness gracious. Do I really need to go out there?" Andre McCane groaned. "I don't feel like having an exchange with Simon Linoge today."  
  
Batsie laughed. "Yes, my humble manservant. You will be carrying my luggage," she teased him.  
  
"Says who?"  
  
"Says me, of course."  
  
"That's what Nemo's crewmen are for," McCane grumbled.  
  
"Nemo's crewmen serve Nemo. You are my former husband. You're much better fit to serve me than them."  
  
"Says who?" McCane protested.  
  
"What's going on now?" Skinner asked. Batsie and McCane were standing in the main corridor of the Nautilus, flanked by Batsie's luggage. Skinner had heard them bickering.  
  
"Andre doesn't feel like speaking with Simon today," Batsie laughed.  
  
"Every time we meet, he finds something to ridicule me about, and then I find something to ridicule him about, and THEN we fight and fight and fight until somebody breaks us up," McCane explained.  
  
"Hold on a second," Tom Sawyer interrupted, stepping out of his room to join in on their conversation. "McCane, you've met this guy? Is he as mean as he looks?" he asked anxiously. "Because I wanted to help Jekyll get Mina to a clinic, and I didn't want to rub elbows with him the wrong way. He looks pretty sinister."  
  
"No, he's not as mean as he looks," Batsie said, practically doubling over with laughter. "Tom, the key to getting along with Simon is to not speak unless spoken to."  
  
"The man's also big on chivalry," McCane added. "So be gracious to the ladies."  
  
"Oh, Sawyer and I are always gracious to the ladies," Skinner grinned. "Aren't we, Mina?"  
  
Mina, who was walking towards them, was bundled up in a big overcoat and rubbing her runny nose with a handkerchief. She just glared at him.  
  
"Are we all ready to greet the bright London sunshine?" asked Nemo. He was walking up the corridor in his newly polished uniform. The group nodded.  
  
"Okay, Jekyll and Sawyer, you two help Mina. McCane and I will help Ms. Linoge. Skinner, you get keep your mouth shut," Nemo ordered.  
  
The door to the outside opened, and the entire group, with Skinner grumbling, helped Mina, Batsie, and Batsie's luggage of the Nautilus and onto the port.  
  
*  
  
Okay, my plan for now is that the next chapter will be the last, and then I will have an epilogue. If that changes in any way, I will let you know when I post the next chapter. Happy reviewing!  
  
~ Alisonia 


	17. Back in London

Wow, guys! Thanks for all of the reviews! The only bad thing is, now I have to respond to all of them! (But I'm in a typing mood tonight, so it should be nothing.)  
  
To Mina: Don't worry, Mina won't die again. Once is enough (for this story, anyway!)  
  
To Starlight16 (for the first comment): I'm glad you're back, and I'm glad you and Jet beat the [insert bad four-letter word here] out of evil. Now we can all rest easy.  
  
To Starlight16 (for the second comment): Evil Simon is right. (He only looks evil, though!) Batsie should have stayed with McCane. I think that they make a great couple! Unfortunately, they weren't great enough. Sigh.  
  
To Graymoon74: Well, you know what they say. "Opposites attract." So an angel from Heaven and an angel from Hell probably COULD get along!  
  
To Clez: I'm glad you liked this chapter. The next one is coming right up.  
  
To NightMusic: Yes, that means we finally get to see the Mina/Jekyll kiss!!! Now, stop dancing around, or you'll miss it!!!  
  
To Melanie: Well, why don't we see, shall we? Simon Linoge won't be in this story very much (he's only in this chapter and that's about it,) but I hope to have him (and Batsie, and McCane of course) back for more of my stories in the future.  
  
To A Fan: I was so tempted to put one of the famous "Storm of the Century" quotes in here. For instance, when Linoge sees Jekyll for the first time, he'd fondle his evil cane and be like, "Born in sin, come on in!" (However, Jekyll would probably get scared and run away, so that wouldn't work!) Oh, well.  
  
Finally, we've reached it. The last chapter of the story. Here it is!  
  
*  
  
The port of the East London Docks hadn't changed much from the time the League last saw it, but something was definitely different about it. Tom Sawyer noticed it right away.  
  
"Look!" he cried, pointing to the right as the remaining passengers struggled off the Nautilus and onto the port, carrying various pieces of Batsie's luggage. "Dorian's house is up for sale!"  
  
And indeed it was. A local real estate firm had placed a large sign reading "For Sale" in the front yard of the house where Dorian Gray had once lived.  
  
"So, how about it, Mina?" Skinner teased Mina. "Why don't we buy the place and move in together?" Luckily for him, Mina didn't feel well. Otherwise, she would have attacked like she had never attacked before.  
  
"Who would WANT to buy that place?" Sawyer grumbled. "The only reason I would want to buy it would be to tear it down!"  
  
"Enough about Dorian's house!" Nemo snapped at them. "I don't want to hear anybody mention Dorian Gray ever again!" Nemo had never quite gotten over the fact that Dorian had been a traitor. Neither did anybody else in the League, for that matter.  
  
"Dorian Gray?" asked a pleasant voice. The League members put down the luggage they were helping to carry and looked up. Simon Linoge had walked over to them and spoken. Oddly enough, his voice was very pleasant considering he had once been an angel of Satan. "Oh, I knew him! Horrible fellow, never really was fond of him."  
  
Mina sighed with relief. Suddenly, she didn't care what Simon Linoge had done in his past; she liked him already. In Mina's book, anyone who hated Dorian Gray, whether they be good or bad, was likeable.  
  
Batsie smiled and walked over to him. "Darling, I'd like you to meet the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. This is Captain Nemo, Tom Sawyer, Rodney Skinner, Dr. Henry Jekyll, and Mina Harker," she said, introducing each of them in turn. "And, I know you already know Andre McCane."  
  
"Pleasure," nodded Linoge, bowing to each of the men in turn, including McCane, who bowed back to him (this didn't surprise anyone much; even if McCane did loathe him, he had always had excellent manners.) Linoge then kneeled in front of Mina and kissed her hand.  
  
"And everybody, I'd like you to meet Simon Linoge," Batsie said, gesturing toward him.  
  
"So, you're the husband of this magnificent lady?" asked Nemo, walking over to Linoge. "She saved more than one life on the Nautilus this past week."  
  
Linoge just nodded. "That's my girl," he smiled, looking down at his wife.  
  
Batsie smiled back at him. "I did my best."  
  
"Mr. Linoge, if you don't mind me asking, how did you know Dorian Gray, anyway?" Sawyer asked curiously.  
  
"Oh, we worked together in the past," Linoge grinned. "Me the expert, himself the novice. That's all I'm allowed to say."  
  
"You've said enough," Skinner groaned. The rest of the League nodded. Dorian was more evil than they had ever thought.  
  
"Well, I'd certainly love to stay and get to know you all, but we really must run, so I'd like to thank you all for taking good care of my wife," Linoge said. "I hope we meet again soon."  
  
There were several hugs and kisses as everybody wanted to say goodbye to Batsie. After everybody else was done, Jekyll went up and hugged her. "The happiest time of my life was the time that I was among the angels," he whispered to her. "Thank you so much."  
  
Batsie pulled apart from him and shook her head. "Don't thank me, Henry Jekyll. Thank yourself for believing in me."  
  
Simon Linoge waved his evil-looking cane, and all of Batsie's suitcases rose up in midair and proceeded to the waiting automobile by the dock. The married couple followed, and before anybody could say anything else, the two angels were gone.  
  
"Things aren't always what they seem," Skinner remarked as they drove away. "That Linoge chap seemed like a wicked old warlock until he spoke to us."  
  
"Yeah, he's all right," agreed McCane casually. Trying to get away from the subject as quickly as possible, he looked over at Mina. "Mina, are you ready? Let's get you to a specialist."  
  
Mina nodded. "I have an old friend who lives here in London," she said quietly, holding onto Nemo's arm to balance her weak self. "He's a very brilliant doctor, and he was the one who helped me readjust to my lifestyle after I became a vampire. He knows quite a lot about vampires."  
  
"Let's see if we can look him up," said Jekyll pleasantly. "Come, Mina. Don't worry, we'll have you better in no time."  
  
*  
  
I know this chapter was extremely short, but there wasn't much else to do or say once the Nautilus was docked, except say goodbye.  
  
Hold on, though! There will definitely be an epilogue, because Jekyll and Mina still haven't had their KISS!!!!!!! (In fact, the epilogue is up right now! Go ahead and read it!)  
  
~ Alisonia 


	18. Epilogue: The Kiss

I don't know why I usually to put up the epilogue immediately after the last chapter. It's probably because I'm so anxious to finally end the story!  
  
But this way, you don't have to wait in suspense. You finally get to read the end!  
  
And so, without further ado, here is the conclusion of 'Among the Angels.'  
  
*  
  
16 Mayberry Court. This was the place.  
  
Henry Jekyll knocked on the front door with his right hand, seeing that he had a bouquet of bright flowers in his left. Almost immediately a housekeeper opened the door.  
  
"Yes, sir?" She asked, a no-nonsense old woman with her gray hair pulled back into a strict bun.  
  
"Good afternoon," Jekyll smiled pleasantly. "I'd like to see the patient Ms. Mina Harker."  
  
The housekeeper nodded. "Yes. Right this way, sir."  
  
Jekyll followed her into the bright, cheerful house and up a set of stairs to the second floor. As they reached the second floor landing, he could hear a patient down the hall moaning horribly. For a moment, Jekyll hoped and prayed that it wasn't Mina.  
  
And it wasn't. The housekeeper opened the door of the room immediately at the left of the top of the staircase, and ushered Jekyll in.  
  
Mina was up and out of bed, sitting at a chair in front of the window and reading a large, thick book. Upon hearing footsteps enter the room, she turned around curiously. Her eyes brightened. "Doctor Jekyll," she whispered softly.  
  
"Oh, Mina," Jekyll sighed happily as he made his way across the room to her. The housekeeper left and closed the door behind her.  
  
"Oh, Henry," Mina smiled, happy tears in her eyes, graciously accepting the flowers he held out to her. "It's been so long!" She reached over and hugged him, planting a kiss on his forehead.  
  
"It's only been two weeks," Jekyll smiled at her as she admired the bright roses and carnations. "What have you been doing here for two weeks, anyway? I would have thought you'd be better by now."  
  
Mina shook her head, her face melancholy. "Doctor Van Helsing is very thorough, Henry. He takes blood samples every day, and gives me these horrible medicines to take that have odd side effects."  
  
"I'm so sorry," Jekyll whispered sadly.  
  
"Oh, don't be!" Mina laughed. "I'm so much better now! I don't know what I would have done if I wouldn't have remembered Doctor Van Helsing lives here in London. He knows more about obscure diseases than anyone in the world, and he's an old friend of me and Jonathan's. And don't worry, I'll be released in just a few days!"  
  
"Well, I'm glad the rest of the League and I were able to get you the best treatment available."  
  
"Forget the rest of the League," Mina laughed and shook her head impatiently, putting the flowers in an empty vase on the windowsill. "It's you I want, Henry!"  
  
Jekyll smiled and wrapped her in his arms. "I'm glad you feel that way, Mina. So, tell me. Were you contagious?"  
  
Mina stared into his eyes and shook her head very slowly. "No. I wasn't contagious at all."  
  
"So, that means I can give you a kiss in a better spot?"  
  
"Certainly," Mina breathed out of pure happiness. She and Jekyll leaned closer, and for the first time ever, their lips touched each other in a kiss.  
  
Henry Jekyll's kiss was passionate and sweet. For a kind moment, Mina was able to forget all about her illness, forget all about the evils of the world (such as Rodney Skinner,) and focus just on one thing. The man she truly loved.  
  
"I love you, Mina Harker."  
  
"And I love you, Henry Jekyll."  
  
*  
  
I have just one word: Awwww!!!  
  
My next story is going to be a Jekyll/Mina love story, and the first chapter should be up very shortly. Stay tuned!!  
  
(By the way, you're still welcome to review! How did you enjoy the conclusion? The story overall?)  
  
~ Alisonia 


End file.
